


Saltwater Rooms

by KirstieJ



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-25 20:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3823315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirstieJ/pseuds/KirstieJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lapis Lazuli washed up on the beach, Steven wanted her to stay, and become part of the Crystal Gems. She was a bit reluctant at first, and her relationship with the other gems was pretty rocky, but she steadily got to know them and developed closer relationships over time. Of course, no road is without it's bumps on the way, and no rose without it's thorns.<br/>This is a tale of the first year or so Lapis is with the Crystal Gems, and how that works out for them.<br/>**For those of you reading this early on, there was a bit of a mix-up! I missed Chapter 3, which wasn't entirely necessary, but it has some set-up for the next couple chapters. It's now been added and has some cute stuff in it!!!!<br/>(Pairings are tagged but there's a bit of explanation on them in the notes of the first chapter)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic includes an established Pearlnet romantic relationship, and aro Lapis in a platonically intimate relationship with Pearl!!  
> Also parts of it tend to have a Pearl-centric vibe to them, probably because she's my favourite character and it started out based on her relationship with Lapis specifically, but I tired to do bits with varying perspectives. )

"Garnet! Amethyst! Peeaarrl! Come quick!"

The gems were seated on the couch in the living room of Steven's house, but upon hearing his voice, the three of them sprung into action. Although Steven had a habit of yelling them for just about anything sometimes, he sounded more panicked than usual. They glanced at each other before hurrying towards the door as Steven cried for them yet again. He was down on the beach, so they made their way there to his spot near the shore.

Garnet was the first to assess the situation, using her future vision on the way over to see what Steven was yelling about. The other two weren't out of the loop for long, though, as it became fairly obvious what was happening as soon as they reached Steven.

Steven was currently helping Lapis Lazuli to stand up. She looked exhausted, and her dress was somewhat tattered.

"Steven," Lapis was trying to talk to him, gripping his shoulder to help keep herself upright. "I missed you," she managed, sort of smiling at him.

"It's gonna be alright, Lapis. Garnet, help her," Steven looked over at the Crystal Gems, eyes pleading. Garnet walked over and did as Steven demanded, picking Lapis up and carrying her bridal style.

"We should... probably take her to the temple," Pearl said, voice careful.

"Steven," Lapis said, turning her head toward him.

"Yes? What is it?"

Lapis let her arm flop out towards him, slowly uncurling a tight fist to reveal an orange gemstone in the palm of her hand. "Bubble it," she murmured.

Steven carefully picked up the gemstone, Jasper, and created a Rose Quartz bubble around it.

"Let's go," Garnet said. Amethyst watched quietly from Steven's side and trailed them up to the temple. Garnet and Pearl were in the front, muttering quietly to each other. Steven was looking at his feet, carrying the bubbled Jasper.

They made it into the house and shut the door right before it began to rain outside. Garnet and Pearl walked over to the warp pad and Pearl opened the temple door for Garnet and Lapis.

"Hey, buddy, it's gonna be alright," Amethyst said, as Garnet and Pearl disappeared behind the temple door with Lapis. "She didn't retreat into her gem. It's probably just gonna be like when Sugilite split and Garnet and I were physically exhausted. All she needs is some time to rest up."

Steven nodded slowly, looking at the bubbled gem in his hands.

"You should probably put that in the temple."

"Is it... dangerous?"

"Nah. Bubbled gems shouldn't be able to reform."

"Shouldn't?"

"I've never seen one do it. Especially not a Rose Quartz bubble. It's fine, Steven. And, hey, aren't you happy Lapis is alright??"

Steven closed his hand and warped the bubble into the temple. "Yeah, you're right. I am!! You don't think Garnet and Pearl will mind her staying here, do you?"

"Uh," Amethyst shrugged. "Do you really think she'll want to stay here, Steven? She doesn't exactly like us, y'know."

"She doesn't know you guys yet! I'm sure you'll all be best buds before you know it. Besides, where else can she go? She's not gonna try to get to Homeworld again."

"You're probably right there. I dunno. There are other planets she could fly off to."

"But she should stay here! She could totally help us, she's obviously strong. And I know it didn't seem like it all the time, but I know she's on our side."

"Steven, she's on  _your_  side. And that's fine, it's good she likes you. But she doesn't like me, Pearl, or Garnet, which could be an issue for her if she wants to stick around."

"You just got off on the wrong foot, I know she'll learn to like you."

"Whatever Steven, I just thi-" Amethyst was waving her hand in the air, but her sentence was cut off by the opening of the temple door and Pearl's voice calling out to Steven.

"Lapis would like to see you. She's feeling a bit better already."

"That's fantastic!" Steven said. "C'mon Amethyst," Steven grinned at her and headed toward the temple with her.

Pearl was opening the door to her own room, where Lapis was residing for the time being. She wasn't in the main area of Pearl's room, though, it took a few skillful hops down the water towers and through one of the falls to bring them to the location. It was a small room, with a méridienne chaise longue as well as various small shelves stocked with books. Lapis was lying on the piece of furniture, which was a light blue colour to fit with Pearl's theme.  

The frown on the blue gem's lips eased up a little when Steven entered the room and bounced over to her.

"Hey Lapis! It's so great to see you!"

"Hey Steven," Lapis greeted him again. Steven jumped up on the chaise longue next to her legs.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like dirt. A lot better than Malachite ever felt, though," Lapis spoke in a quiet voice, glancing at the three crystal gems who were standing back from her and Steven.

"I bet," Steven laughed, a little nervous sounding. "Well, you're not part of her anymore, and you're far away from Jasper now."

Lapis nodded her head, "Yeah. No mirrors in sight, either," she said, voice dropping to a new low as she continued to gaze at Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.

Steven's eyes got a little wide and he looked down. "You're not gonna be trapped anymore. I promise you, this time will be different."

"You're sweet, Steven. I like you a lot. But are your  _friends_  really going to allow me to leave?"

Steven frowned up at her. "I'm sure you can leave! But I don't want you to. I know you don't like the crystal gems, but they really aren't so bad! I really don't think you should try to go back to Homeworld again."

"Oh, do not worry about that. I'm not trying to go to Homeworld  _ever_  again," Lapis sighed and looked around the room, wanting to change the topic. "Did you ever locate Peridot?"

"Uhh. No, we never really found her. We aren't sure she's on Earth, but we think if he made it back to Homeworld we'd have been attacked again already."

"Hmmn," Lapis frowned again and then shut her eyes. "It never ends, huh?"

"I don't think so. I mean, according to the gems, they've been doing stuff here for the last 5,000 years."

Lapis let out a humorless laugh and opened her eyes again. "Oh, well that's not  _that_  long."

Steven blinked his eyes, "For humans it is!"

"Earthlings experience short lives practically devoid of meaning. At least from what I could tell, having viewed a handful from afar in the form of a mirror."

Steven pursed his lips, "My mom didn't think so."

"Rose Quartz didn't seem to know that much about them, either," Lapis pointed out, sitting up a bit.

"Ahem," Pearl pretended to clear her throat as she approached them, with Garnet and Amethyst standing behind her.

"Yes?" Lapis asked, her eyes turning cold at the three Crystal Gems.

Pearl clasped her hands in front of her core, breathing in through her nose. "We would like to extend an apology to you, Lapis Lazuli, as well as our greatest gratitude. While you may have been looking out for Steven and preventing your own entrapment, your actions saved all of us, and possibly all life on this planet. If Jasper had have made it back to Homeworld unscathed, she could have had us all destroyed."

"I'm aware," Lapis crossed her arms over her middle. "It's been a while since any of you have seen Homeworld, hasn't it?"

"It has," Garnet answered.

"I wasn't lying when I said it's changed substantially. I do not wish to go back there."

"Neither do we. Not that I was there, ever, but y'know what I mean," Amethyst waved her hand.

Lapis narrowed her eyes slightly at Amethyst, "Yes, you're a Kindergarten gem, huh?"

"Yea," Amethyst muttered, looking away from her.

"Touchy subject?" Lapis prodded, edging forward on the chaise longue.

"Hm," Amethyst kept looking off in the distance.

Pearl fake-cleared her throat again. "Speaking of touchy subjects.. Lapis, for what it's worth, we had no idea who you were, in the mirror. We also did not realize how conscious you were, or how you were put in there. We hardly knew anything."

Lapis swallowed and pressed her lips together. "You hardly  _know_  anything, by the sound of it. I wouldn't expect you to know who I was before, but you may have wondered. Rose Quartz might have known."

"Yes, well," Pearl chewed on her lip and looked down. "I was previously under the impression she told me everything, but that's been disproven," Pearl's voice had a hint of bitterness to it, but she shrugged her shoulders. "The point is, we didn't know who you were, or if you were a danger to us."

"Well, I don't agree with the Crystal Gems, or Rose Quartz. That doesn't mean I agree with Yellow Diamond either, though.  No offence, Steven, but I don't think humans and other earthlings aren't really worth all the trouble that has been caused over your species."

"That's valid," Pearl said. "I understand why you feel that way. We don't understand humans very well ourselves." 

Steven frowned, "Besides, we're really not so bad. You haven't gotten a chance to know any humans yet!"

Lapis shook her head, directing her attention to Pearl, "If you understand me but don't understand humans, why did you side with Rose Quartz in the first place?"

 "Well," Pearl glanced down at her hands. She started again, in a emotive tone, "Earth is home to many beautiful things, and we just don't think it's fair for gems to take control of planets that have already established."

"I know the view of Rose Quartz, I worked under Blue Diamond. I'm asking  _you_  why  _you_ chose to stay. Then again, I'm not sure why I'm assuming you've put your own thought into it. You are a Pearl, after all," Lapis sighed.

Pearl's eyes narrowed and her mouth dropped into a frown. She wasn't able to formulate a response before Steven cut in.

Steven frowned as well, "What do you mean by that..?"

"That's enough conversation," Garnet interjected. "Lapis, you should rest. Pearl has graciously agreed to let you stay in this part of our temple until you've recovered fully. We'll also allow you some time to think of the options for the future. We'll have a group discussion about what to do next later on."

Lapis raised her brows and settled back down on the chaise longue, looking at Pearl. "You're letting her speak for you?" She looked between the two of them, humming, " She must be your leader now. I get it."

Pearl opened her mouth, but Garnet grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward the entrance of the room. "Goodbye, Lapis. Rest up. C'mon, you three."

Steven hopped down wordlessly, being able to tell by her tone that Garnet meant business. Amethyst walked out ahead of the rest of them. Pearl glanced back, but let herself be tugged along by Garnet. Lapis stared at the wall with a tight frown on her face as the other three left the room she was occupying.


	2. Chapter 2

"What was that all about?" Steven questioned, as soon as they were out of the temple.

"Never mind that right now, young man," Garnet said, her voice causal. "It's getting late. You should probably go get rested yourself."

"But Garnet-"

"No buts, Steven." Garnet looked down, then sighed. She removed her glasses and knelt to talk to Steven at his level. "We aren't havin' this talk tonight. I promise you, we'll explain more later. It's complicated, and involves gem culture. It's touchy."

Steven pouted, but Garnet looked pleading, so he nodded his head. "Okay. I understand."

"Thank you for your patience, Steven," Garnet ruffled his hair.  She picked him up to give him a lift up to his bedroom, saying goodnight.

Pearl and Amethyst stood near the entrance to the temple. Pearl had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, looking off to the side.

"Hey, Pearl," Amethyst said, playing with a thick lock of hair. "Don't pay attention to what that... water witch said. You totally have your own reasons for the junk you do."

Pearl sighed. "Thank you," she said, but what the other gem said didn't really help. Amethyst could tell by the look on her face.

"You know I can't really relate to your Homeworld stuff, but if you wanna talk..."

"It's okay, Amethyst," Pearl sort of smiled over at her.

"Yeah right," Amethyst groaned. "Listen, P. I don't know what it was like for you in the past. But, I do know what it's like to be created for something, then end up totally different. That's not always a bad thing! Obviously. I know you don't always think it, but you've come a long way from when we first met, and I bet that means you've come even further from Homeworld."

Pearl managed a real smile, though it was still a bit sad on the edges. "Thank you," she repeated, "I mean it, Amethyst. Don't let any silly comments get to you, either."

Amethyst opened her arms and Pearl accepted her offer, leaning down to hug her. A few moments into it, and Garnet was approaching them.

"Steven's sleeping now."

Pearl and Amethyst let go of each other. "Should we go into the temple?" Pearl asked.

"I think it's better to stay out here, for now."

"Right," Amethyst nodded. "Kay. So. What's the plan?"

Pearl and Amethyst looked to Garnet.  _The leader_.

Garnet put a hand to her chin, her other hand holding her elbow. "I think we should give her a chance to stay, despite the things she said tonight." Garnet adjusted her glasses and Pearl's breath was audible for a moment. 

"As rude as she was," Pearl rolled her eyes, "I have to agree. We can't risk her going back to Homeworld, even if she says she won't try. We haven't had contact with any other gem controlled planets, and we don't need any attention on us. At all."

"We can't force her to stay, though," Amethyst said. "She's pretty powerful. She took on Jasper and won. She also stole the ocean that one time."

"No, we shouldn't try to force her to stay. We'll explain what we're doing here now, because obviously she knows why we came here in the first place. Hopefully we can make a good argument for her to stay." Garnet ran a hand over her hair, then replaced her hand on her chin again.

"And if she refuses?" Pearl asked, rubbing her fingertips across her knuckles.

"We let her go. Make it known that she's welcome back, unless she brings attention to herself and to us."

Amethyst nodded, "Sounds good to me. We done here? I'm beat. I wanna nap in my room."

"We're done, " Garnet confirmed.

"Sweet," Amethyst hopped over to the temple door. "Shout if you need me!" she said, then went into her room.

Garnet, then, turned to Pearl. "Would you like to join me in my room?"

Pearl looked up at Garnet and nodded her head slowly. Garnet went over and opened the door for them, with Pearl trailing close behind her.

They entered Garnet's main room, following the familiar path to a more hidden and secluded place of the temple that Garnet called her own. Similar to the room Lapis was in, it was fairly small, and filled with things Garnet liked. It had a daybed against the wall as well.

"I'm sorry for talkin for you, earlier," Garnet said.  She took off her glasses and went to sit on one side of the daybed, leaving a spot for Pearl.

"It's okay," Pearl said, walking over to Garnet and sitting with her.

"It's not. It gave Lapis the wrong impression. I am not your boss."

"Who cares what Lapis thinks?" Pearl laughed a little, but she wasn't looking Garnet in the eye.

"I don't. You shouldn't. But I don't want her to taunt you."

Pearl looked at her hands, shrugging her shoulders, "It's fine, Garnet."

"You think she's right, don't you?" Garnet said, softly. She took one of Pearl's hands in her own, trying to get her attention.

"N-no," Pearl tried to say, squeezing Garnet's hand. She still wouldn't look up at her.

" _Pearl_ ," Garnet squeezed back.

"Isn't she?" Pearl asked. She finally looked over at Garnet,  "I give orders, I follow orders. I organize, analyze, fix what I can. I'm exactly like any other Pearl, except worse because I'm defective."

Garnet frowned and took Pearl's other hand, intertwining their fingers. "You're wrong. You're so much more than that, Pearl. You have kindness, you're caring, you're brilliant and strong."

"I'm caring because of Rose, and Steven," Pearl said, tears welling in her eyes as she looked away from Garnet again. "Sure, I'm smart, but you know I'm weak, Garnet."

Garnet shook her head, "You have more strength than you give yourself credit for. And no, you may not be as physically strong as some others gems, but your wit and creativity make up for it. Pearl, you are valuable exactly the way you are. You're not perfect, but we need you. Amethyst, Steven, and I, we all need you. Not some other Pearl,  _you_."

Pearl took her hands from Garnets only to put her arms around Garnet's shoulders, crying softly against her neck. "I love you, Garnet," she said quietly, whimpering a bit.

"I love you, too. And so do the others." Garnet held her tight for a few moments, before moving a hand to Pearl's chin, tilting her face upwards. Garnet leaned down and kissed Pearl, who took a moment to respond but kissed her back eagerly. "Stay with me til morning?"

Pearl cracked a smile and nodded, "I can do that." She adjusted herself to be closer to Garnet, but didn't leave the embrace. The two of them began kissing again before long, and continued to do so well into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short.. and they only tend to get longer from here on out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the lost chapter. My first time posting this work, I left this chapter out. Oops. The two chapters immediately after this one still made sense, I guess, but they make should liitttle more sense now.

The next morning, Pearl left Garnet's room in order to make sure Steven was up and dressed, as well as to help him fix breakfast for himself. Garnet hung back for a while, wondering how things would go with Lapis later. Her future vision didn't stretch quite far enough for Garnet to be able to tell if it would really be better for her to stay or go, but she still believed Lapis staying would be favourable for them all.

When Garnet left the temple, she was greeted enthusiastically by Steven, who was at the breakfast table eating something that didn't look very appealing to her. Amethyst was at the table eating it too.

Once Steven was done, he got up to put his dishes in the sink. Then, he looked over at Pearl. "Has anyone checked on Lapis lately?"

"No," Pearl said, glancing over between Garnet and Amethyst.

"We're gonna go in and talk to her in a minute. Steven, we've all decided that we'd like Lapis to stay with us, but it's ultimately her decision whether she would like to stay. "

"That's alright. I bet I can convince her!!"

"You do what you can, but make sure to let her make an informed decision. I'm gonna explain what we've been up to recently, with fighting gem monsters and whatnot."

"Okay! Can we go in and talk to her now? I bet she's lonely."

"She's probably enjoying the alone time after being stuck as that dysfunction fusion with Jasper for months," Amethyst pointed out.

"Oh.. right," Steven frowned.

"Amethyst," Pearl sighed.

"Just sayin!"

"We should go in now," Garnet agreed. "Pearl?"

Pearl went over to the temple door and opened it to her room, then lead them all through to the room they were in last evening.

"Lapis?" Pearl asked, voice soft.

"Still here," she replied. She had one of Pearl's book on her lap.

"Hey Lapis, how are you feeling!?" Steven asked, moving in ahead of Pearl.

"Much better, thanks," Lapis shut the book on her lap, sitting up and swinging around to drop her bare feet on the floor.

"Whatcha reading?" Steven asked, going over to sit next to her again. Lapis tilted the cover of the book toward him.

"It's some human romance novel. It's kinda weird."

"Peearl why do you have that? Are you getting involved in human romance?" Steven snickered and looked up at Pearl, who was blushing slightly. Amethyst laughed along with him, and even Lapis smiled.

"It-it was Rose's! She gave it to me years ago, I never even read it."

"This is really not important right now," Garnet interrupted.

"Yes, exactly," Pearl agreed. "We have things to discuss."

"Oh right," Steven said. He took the book and put it down beside him. "Laaapis," he said, looking over at her.

"What?"

"We believe we made bad first impressions before we even met you, but you've proven yourself not to be a threat to us or our home. We'd like that to remain true. You've even helped us in the past, and we could definitely use your help again if you were interested. Currently, the crystal gems are avoiding Homeworld and all unfamiliar gems, as well as trying to fight and contain all of the corrupted gems still here on earth. Although you've made some hurtful comments toward us, we understand your anger at us for our role in your entrapment for so long. If you'd like to stay here, with us, and possibly help us take care of Earth, we would be pleased to have you."

Lapis listened to Garnet in silence, taking in her words. She sat up straight, hands in her lap as she considered the offer.

Steven managed to keep quiet for a while, but after a few long minutes passed with no response from Lapis, he spoke up. "It would mean a lot to me if you'd stay, Lapis. I know Earth isn't your home, but we have a lot of fun here, even if we run into trouble now and again. I really think, if you gave it a try, you'd like it here. And, we'll keep you safe! Promise!"

Lapis looked over at Steven and smiled at him. "I have to think about it a little longer. The fact of the matter is, I don't really have any place else to go. I'm not a huge fan of your group, but I like you, Steven. I don't want to go anywhere else on Earth. I could try other planets, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take that risk quite yet."

"You can take your time thinking over our offer," Pearl added, a hand on Garnet's arm. "We can leave you be for a while."

"Yes, some time to think would be nice. You can leave me be, Miss," Lapis looked at Pearl, addressing her directly. Pearl scowled back at her, and tightened her grip on Garnet's arm.

Garnet opened her mouth, but Pearl cut her off. "Yes, let's leave Lapis alone now. I'll be up in the main part of my room if you need anything."

"Of course. I'll get you right away if I require assistance." Lapis reached over for the book once Steven hopped down from the chaise longue.

"Okay," Steven said carefully. He could tell there was a tension, but he didn't understand what was causing it. He left the room with Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst with question on his face.

Garnet and Amethyst bid them goodbye and went to their rooms, but Steven stayed with Pearl in her room.

"Can you show me some cool sword tricks?" Steven asked. He had a feeling that, if he asked what was wrong, he wouldn't get a real answer. Pearl seemed a bit bothered, so Steven figured he should help her get her mind off it.

"Excellent idea, Steven. Not that I'll be showing you _tricks_ really, but actual sword techniques."

"No holo-Pearl this time, though."

"No," Pearl's eyes went wide, but she laughed, "no holograms."

Steven sat on a single water tower, a bit higher than the one Pearl was on with her swords. She was describing her body posture to Steven, making note of her foot placement and the way she held her stance. Steven was mostly paying attention to her, but his focus was more on the actual sword and the way it looked slicing through the air.

 They were there for at least an hour, and Pearl even let Steven handle the sword himself for a while, adjusting his posture and tweaking his movements.

"Very good, Steven! You'll be a master swordsman in no time at all if you keep up the practicing!" Pearl gushed, standing to the side to watch his technique. Truthfully, it was still fairly sloppy, but for how long he'd been practicing overall, he was doing just fine.

Another twenty minutes or so and Pearl felt something wet on her shoulder. Eye wide, she turned around, startled. It was a water hand, poking her, and Lapis was standing a few feet behind her.

"Hey, servant girl."

Pearl narrowed her eyes at Lapis, instantly angered, "I am not a 'servant girl'. I held an organizational position in my past."

Steven looked over at the two of them, holding Pearl's sword downwards.

"M-hmm," Lapis replied, looking her up and down. "Looks like your giving lessons, huh?"

"Yeah," Steven went over to them, standing far enough away to safely brandish the sword at Lapis in jest. "She's teaching me to swordfight."

"Something a servant might do," Lapis suggested with a shrug.

Pearl growled under her breath. "You're wrong about me."

"Spending so much time as a mirror allowed me to learn to read people pretty well, Pearl," Lapis said.

"Guys," Steven said, turning the sword down. "Please don't bicker. Give yourselves a chance to get along."

"I'm not bickering," Pearl said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just sizing her up," Lapis held a hand out in front of her. "If I'm considering being part of your team, I need to understand the other members."

"You don't have to pick at their insecurities, though," Steven frowned at her. "I don't really get why you're calling Pearl a servant because I don't understand everything about gem culture and sometimes I don't listen well when the gems try to explain it to me... But I can tell it hurts her feelings, so you shouldn't do it. Especially not if you want to be part of the team. We have to _try_  to get along, even if it's not so easy all the time."

Lapis shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not ready to be nice to my previous captors, Steven. I spent time contained in her gem specifically, how is that supposed to make me feel?"

Pearl brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry for that, Lapis, I really am. If we knew you were sentient, we would have done things differently."

"Would you?"

"Yes! Goodness, yes. I had you in my _head_. Technically."

"I couldn't perceive what you did, or access your thoughts. You're still like an open book to me regardless."

"Well, that's... nice to know." Pearl sighed and looked down.

Lapis cleared her throat much in the way Pearl had the night before. "Well. Anyway. I actually came up here to say that I'm pretty sure I'd like to stay. Again, I have no idea where else I would go, at least for the time being. I won't promise I'll stay forever, but I'll give it a shot."

"Yaaaaaaay!" Steven screamed, dropping the sword and launching himself at Lapis. She only barely caught him, taken aback by his enthusiasm. Pearl looked worried for a moment, but smiled once she could see Steven was safe in Lapis' grip.

"I'll go grab the others. We're going to have to try to modify the temple, because I don't suppose we'd want to share my room."

"Hah. No."

"My thoughts exactly. I'll be back with Garnet and Amethyst in a moment."

"I'm so glad you're staying here! I promise, it'll be great! You'll learn to love Pearl, and Garnet, and Amethyst too!"

"Hm. Maybe, Steven. As long as you're my friend, I'll be happy," Lapis said, hugging him close.

"Awwwh, Lapis Lazuli! You flatter me," Steven hugged her tight, and they remained that way until the Crystal Gems returned.

Lapis let Steven down once they arrived. "I have an idea on how to alter your temple. It would only require leaving it."

"Really?" Garnet asked, raising a brow (not that the others could see behind her glasses).

"Yes. Just using some gem technique. It's not unlike how you probably created it in the first place."

"We've done some temporary alterations in the past, but we haven't changed anything permanently since it was constructed in the first place," Pearl murmured.

"I know what I'm doing," Lapis said, looking, again, at Pearl.

"I don't doubt that!" Pearl said, voice defensive.

"Well, the temple was constructed with plenty of extra space, so what we'd need to do is designate a specific area to Lapis. If she thinks she knows how, let's see it," Garnet said, putting a hand on the small of Pearl's back.

Garnet walked over to the door with Pearl, arm around her waist for the duration of said walk. Pearl opened up the temple door and everyone piled out and let the door shut behind them.

"Alright, let's see this," Amethyst said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"It shouldn't be that difficult, really." Lapis pressed her palms together, preparing to focus.

"Rose was the one who built most of the temple in the first place," Garnet said, her arms also crossed now. Pearl had a hand tucked around one of her elbows.

Lapis went over to the door and put her hands up in front of it. After a moment, her gem started to glow. It remained glowing for a few minutes, until a small blue stone appeared above the star. The temple door opened, and a room filled with dark water was revealed.

"She did it," Garnet said. Pearl dropped her hand from Garnet's arm, nodding her head.

"That's amazing," Pearl said, walking over to her. Lapis let the door shut again, rolling her shoulders back. "How, exactly, did you do it? You actually added your gemstone to the door, that's just.. incredible."

"As I said, it's not the difficult. I located some of the empty space Garnet mentioned and used my gem to connect to it. I made it my own, and once it was constructed, the corresponding gem appeared automatically. If you had another strong source of magic like the one running this temple, we could create rooms in the same way anywhere."

"Fascinating," Pearl murmured, looking at the new gem on the wall. "That's so... _neat_."

Lapis snickered. "You're a nerd, aren't you?"

Amethyst snorted. "Oh man. You have no idea. Pearl is the nerdiest."

"I am not," Pearl said, putting her hands on her hips as she turned to Amethyst.

"That's exactly what a nerd would say," Lapis smirked. She and Amethyst laughed together and Pearl groaned.

"Ugh, whatever."

"Hey, I never said it was a bad thing. You're smart and interested in stuff, who cares? I could tell you were a nerd when I saw the room you gave me was filled with books, even if most of them were on plants and sea creatures."

"How many books of mine did you look at?" Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A fair few. I like the ones on sea creatures."

"As do I. I mean, obviously I like water."

"Same. Well," Lapis looked around. "I'm going to go check out my area of the temple, now. Also, I have a good idea on how I would take this away, if this doesn't work out for us."

"Would it not work similarly?"

"It should just be a matter of reversing the process. Connecting to the temple's magic and removing my signature, so to speak, from it."

"Yes, exactly."

Lapis gave Pearl a half smile, and went to open her door as she said she would. She went into the room and let the door shut behind it.

"What was that all about Pearl?" Amethyst asked, raising her brows at Pearl with a grin on her face.

"What was _what_ all about, Amethyst?"

"You like it when they're kinda mean to you, huh?"

"What are you talking about?!"

 Amethyst just cackled, holding her side. "Nothing, nothing. Just you. Nerding out over Lapis' power."

"I don't get why that's so funny," Garnet said.

"Me either," Pearl insisted.

"I'm just glad she decided to stay!" Steve chipped in.

"Yes. That's a good thing," Garnet nodded. "Did you have lunch yet, Steven?"

"No, I've been practicing with Pearl all morning."

"Why don't you and Amethyst run down and get something together? Pizza or fry bits or whatever."

"Sure!"

Amethyst snickered again, clicking her tongue, "Alrighty. See you two later."

Steven scurried off with Amethyst not far behind him. Once the door banged shut behind them, Garnet leaned down to kiss Pearl on the lips.

"It's been a while since you've been this affectionate so frequently," Pearl mentioned, lifting her arms to hook around Garnet's neck.

"I guess I've just missed it," Garnet told her, pressing their lips together again.

"I have, too," Pearl sighed against her mouth, lifting herself up as best she could so Garnet wouldn't have to bend down far.

The two of them became so involved with kissing each other that they didn't even hear the temple door open again, despite being fairly close to it.

"Whoa. Whoops," Lapis said, voice monotone.

Pearl gasped as she broke away from the kiss, face entirely blue with blush.

"U-um, sorry you had to see that. We got a little carried away."

Lapis just chuckled lightly, "I don't really care. What you gems do with each other isn't really a concern to me."

"We'll try to keep it to our rooms nonetheless," Garnet said, rubbing the back of her neck. If her cheeks were any indication, she was embarrassed as well.

"You two are...  cute," Lapis muttered, then cleared her throat. "I just came out here because as far as I can tell my room leads to Pearl's and probably Amethyst's and I don't want to snoop around too much my first day here. My space is really blank, though."

"If you'd like to borrow some of the books about sea creatures, I wouldn't mind," Pearl said. "Just to occupy yourself for now."

"That would be nice, actually."

"We can go and get some if you'd like."

Lapis glanced over at Garnet, who had her head turned away. The blush was mostly gone, though.

"Okay."

Pearl also turned her gaze toward Garnet, and Garnet looked back at her and leaned down to peck her on the cheek before Pearl left with Lapis.

 


	4. Chapter 4

The next few months or so went by surprisingly smooth in the home of the Crystal Gems. Some nasty remarks were uttered here and there. But, the most contentious relationship in the household was still that of Amethyst and Pearl. They argued over various things, but usually managed to make up within a reasonable amount of time.

The relationship between Lapis and the Crystal Gems was awkward and rocky at first, but things went better than expected. Lapis would often join Amethyst in poking fun at Pearl, but she stopped making jabs at Pearl's gem class after a while. It may or may not have had something to do with Garnet quietly putting her foot down, but Lapis didn't seem to defer to Garnet. 

Lapis did get along fairly well with Garnet, though. Lapis didn't challenge her, or try to tease her much, but she didn't act afraid of her either. Lapis showed Garnet respect, and mostly got it back, unless Lapis was particularly rude to Pearl.

Interestingly enough, Pearl and Lapis got along well most of the time as well. They held civil conversations about the aquatic life in the books Lapis borrowed from Pearl. Sometimes they would sit on the beach together in front of the ocean, Pearl feeling the sand on her palms and Lapis letting the water hit her feet. They discussed some things about culture, sea, and space. Some of their conversations were oddly deep. 

For the first little while, Lapis stayed at home with Steven while the others went on missions. Lapis wasn't entirely sure how much she wanted to do the job the Crystal Gems had signed themselves up for.

Eventually, though, Steven wanted to get back at it, and Lapis wasn'tcomfortable staying in the temple by herself, so she went with them.

The first two went perfectly fine. They were fairly easy, most likely handpicked by Garnet to be good introductory runs for Lapis.

The third one was a step up, though. It was somewhat more dangerous mission, in an area that was less familiar to Steven than some others. The gems didn't take him there, much; they didn't really go there a lot themselves. Not unlike some of the places they frequented, there were cliffs to climb, and they ended up fighting a gem monster all the way up a mountain with a sharp cliff to one side. It wasn't a first for the crystal gems, but Lapis wasn't nearly as used to fighting, as strong as she was.

"Steven! Run to the other side of me," Garnet roared, jumping in front of the boy. The monster they were fighting had six arm-like appendages that reached for them all.

Pearl gracefully dodged the arm coming after her, trying to lead it away from Garnet and Steven.

Lapis stood farther back from the monster, closer to the edge of the cliff. She spread her wings, planning on flying out of the way of the arm that was nearing her.

"Amethyst!" Steven screamed from his place behind Garnet, scrambling in the direction opposite to what Garnet had told him.

Lapis looked over at Steven with fear in her eyes as Garnet screamed his name again. The momentary distraction of her concern caused the monster to swat her wings away and throw her towards the edge of the cliff.

"Help!" Lapis screamed, fingers just barely clawing at the rock at the edge. She panted, trying to focus and get her wings back to help herself up, but she was panicking. She didn't register the hand on her arm until she was being pulled up, eyes glossy. Lapis looked up, confused, leaning on the person whose arm was around her.

 "Pearl," she gasped. "You saved me."

"Of course," Pearl said, brows furrowed, "you're part of the team. Amethyst found a weak spot, she and Garnet should be able to handle it now. I'm taking you and Steven to get out of here."

Lapis nodded and slowly let go of Pearl. Steven grabbed onto her hand as they ducked behind the monster, now facing Garnet and Amethyst, and swiftly made their way down the side of the mountain. When they were a bit over halfway down the mountain, they heard the monster shriek, and then go silent.

Steven, Lapis, and Pearl waited at the warp pad for Garnet and Amethyst. Lapis was rubbing her arm, looking down. Steven was still holding her hand.

"I think we did okay," Steven said, filling the silence.

"Oh, not bad at all," Pearl offered. "The situation was a little worse than we anticipated, but we handled it."

"Thank you, for what you did to help me," Lapis spoke up, looking at Pearl.

Pearl raised her brows again, putting her hands on her hips. "Really, Lapis, it's not that big of a deal. We look out for each other, it's what we do. We're Crystal Gems."

"Yeah!" Steven grinned up at her.

Lapis glanced down. "It is, though. It's been a long time since anybody, besides Steven, has looked out for me. I've been cruel to you, I-"

"Hey guys!" Amethyst cut Lapis off, though she may not have realized she was saying anything important.

"We got the gem," Garnet said, a post-mission grin on her face.

"Oh, wonderful. We assumed that's what the shrieking was a while back."

"Yeah," Amethyst confirmed. "I mead, coulda been us dying and you wouldn't have noticed, but y'know."

"Amethyst!" Pearl groaned and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Lapis, you were saying something?"

"Oh, never mind. We, uh, we can talk when we get back."

"All right," Pearl nodded slowly. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yup," Garnet answered as she and Amethyst joined the other three on the warp pad, and they warped back.

"Amethyst, do you wanna come to the Big Donut with me?" Steven asked, once they got back.

"Sure thing, Steven." Amethyst said, and they hurried off without much else.

"I'm going to put this away," Garnet said, turning around to open the temple door.

Pearl looked over at Lapis, running her fingers through her hair to fix it. "Did you still want to talk?"

"Yes, please," Lapis said, going over to the door to open it to her room. Pearl followed her inside. "I just wanted to tell you, the things I said to you were said with malice and I haven't once given any indication that I'm sorry. I've been trying to tell myself I'm not sorry, but I am."

The room Lapis constructed was a twilight blue, looking like the ocean in the moonlight at the latest point of the night. Pearl thought it was breathtaking, reminding her of the sky as well as the sea. It was fitting for both of them, really.

Pearl chewed on her lip. "I-it's okay, Lapis."

"It is not. I know my words hurt you. That's why I said them."

"It's fine," Pearl insisted. "I can take insults. Amethyst taunts me all the time."

"You and Amethyst have a longstanding relationship. I hardly know you, and I've tried to hurt you because I blame you for what happened to me. You, and the others, are the easiest to blame, of course. But Steven was sort of right, I guess. It's been harder to hate you for my imprisonment since getting to know you."

Pearl shook her head,  "I don't blame you for blaming us. I mean, I try to be as rational as possible, but emotions are difficult to deal with and I can understand that. Believe me," Pearl looked down, thoughts and feelings of how she'd dealt with past situations flooding back to her. No, emotions and hurt weren't exactly strong points for her. "Besides, what you were saying..." Pearl sighed. A moment too late, she decided she probably shouldn't have started that thought.

Lapis looked over at Pearl for the first time this conversation, having walked deeper into her room. It was dark, but in a cozy way. The room didn't seem too vast, it gave the impression that it was smaller than most other spaces in the temple.

"What, Pearl?"

"Well, it was true. I was meant to be a servant, a worker bee, to do what I was told. There was never anything special about me."

Lapis frowned at her. "I know. At least, I know you think that. That's why I said what I did," Lapis insisted, "I had a very good feeling it would hurt you, and it made you an easy target. But then you started to show interest in what I had to say. I began to realize I shouldn't throw things like that in your face when you've done so much work to combat your insecurities."

Pearl ruffled the hair on the back of her head, looking away again. "You really can read me, huh?"

"Like an open book," Lapis sighed. "Again, spending a lot of time as a mirror can help with that. I'm surprised I didn't lose myself. I've realized that I can't blame you for not wondering if I was sentient, because who would be, after being a reflection for so long?"

Pearl shook her head again. "In the past I've feel like a reflection, so perhaps I should have wondered."

Lapis reached out and put a hand on Pearl's arm, "There is no way you would have known. You've been nothing but patient with what I've said about you. I know you could try to hurt me back, but you never have. Believe me, I am still entirely bitter about the circumstances, but I promise I'll stop taking it out on you." She let her arm drop.

"Well, that would be appreciated, I suppose. I mean, I'm not going to ask you to be mean to me," Pearl screwed up her face in bemusement, laughing.

"Not into that, huh?" Lapis smirked. Pearl blushed, and even in the dark room it was fairly visible on her pale face. Lapis giggled a little at the look.

"Too sensitive," Pearl admitted. "It's the insecurities." Pearl felt weird, talking so openly about herself. She occasionally did so with Garnet and Amethyst, but she'd known them for centuries. She tried to keep her emotions and insecurities in check around Steven, although she didn't do so well on the first part. Ever. It was surprisingly easy to chat with Lapis, even when the topics became personal like they did now. Perhaps it was because Lapis was able to read her so easily.

"I can understand. I mean, before what I did to Jasper, I'd resigned myself to being a prisoner forever," Lapis said, offering up some personal information of her own. "I was just trying to do anything that would make life as easy as possible. It was a snap decision to fight back against her that changed my outlook."

Pearl nodded her head. There was so much to Lapis Lazuli that Pearl didn't really know yet. She was wise, and they could connect well when talking about the sea or the stars, and gem culture. Certain things were sore spots for one or the both of them, as they'd run into during a late night talk in the past.

"Well, um. Apology accepted. I'm never not going to feel sorry for my part in your imprisonment, but I'm deeply grateful that we've managed to move past it. You're a great team member and you make Steven very happy. You've shown incredible strength and bravery. And, honestly, you're very good to talk with."

Lapis smiled back at her. "Thank you, for not giving up on me, even if it was only about Steven. I'm glad we've given each other a chance."

Pearl moved her foot to turn, about to head toward the door. She paused, and hesitated before asking, "Would you like to meet up with me tonight to watch the stars again? I know we did it sort of impromptu last week."

"That sounds like fun," Lapis agreed. "I'll see you later."

Pearl grinned and turned for real this time, but looked over her shoulder, "It's a date."

Lapis snickered, "Of course."

Pearl looked back toward the door, blushing faintly again.

Pearl opened the door to the temple and nearly walked into Garnet, yelping.

"Sup, babe," Garnet greeted her with a tiny smirk.

Pearl stood up straight and tried to gain her composure. "I just finished speaking with Lapis," Pearl said. "We have, um... date tonight."

"Date?" Garnet said, taking a step back to give Pearl some room.

Pearl looked over Garnet's shoulder, her voice softening, "Well..."

"Steven and Amethyst are still out."

"Let's go into my room," Pearl said, turning around to face the door and opening it again. They stepped inside and it shut. "I don't think it's a romantic date, but we had heart-to -heart, so to speak. She apologized for the things she's said to me."

"Good." Garnet crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Things have been going better than I expected with Lapis Lazuli."

"Right?" Pearl asked, looking thoughtful. "I do enjoy her company."

"In  _that_  way?"

"I dunno," Pearl shrugged her shoulders. "But I don't want anything to happen before running it before you," Pearl put her hand on Garnet's forearm.

Garnet lifted her hand and phased off her glasses. She put her hands on Pearl's waist and pulled her closer, but looked her in the eyes as she spoke. "As long our relationship doesn't change, it doesn't matter to me what you do with others. It was always that way in the past, it isn't gonna change now."

Pearl pressed her face against Garnet's chest and let out a sigh of relief. "I love you. I'm so glad you're part of my life.."

"Pearl," Garnet tightened her arms around the other gem's waist, hugging her close. "I feel the same," Garnet murmured.

The two let go of their embrace after a while, and went on about their days. Pearl wanted to clean the house, and Garnet always had something to occupy herself. Amethyst and Steven made it back eventually, and the two of them ate supper that Pearl cooked for them. Lapis made a brief appearance and Steven convinced her to join in a game of his, and then she went back to her room until it was night time.


	5. Chapter 5

Around 10 o'clock, after Pearl had tucked Steven into bed, the two of them met on the deck. Pearl had a blanket in her arms and they walked down to the beach together.

Pearl spread the blanket out near the water, but not close enough that it would get wet. She waved her hand to let Lapis pick her spot first, then settled down next to her. They both lied down to be able to look up at the sky.

"Y'know, the view from Earth isn't so bad. Even if I don't love it here," Lapis spoke, folding her arms behind her head to stare into space.

"I agree," Pearl folding her hands across her midsection.

"About the view, or not loving it here, or both?" Lapis looked over at her.

"You can't tell?" Pearl looked over as well, her tone playful.

"I have a guess. I'll tell you if I was right." Lapis looked back up to the sky after that, eyes taking in the stars and the moonlight.

Pearl turned her gaze to the sky again, "Well, it's definitely the first thing. Earth has a wonderful view. This isn't even the best spot to look at the stars. I'll have to take you someplace more isolated in the future."

"Oh? Want me alone?"

Pearl blushed. Lapis was surprisingly forward for a gem who was raised on Homeworld. Then again, as a mirror she must have seen many situations and picked up whatever she found handy. "We're alone right now, aren't we?"

"We're close to civilization. We could get more alone than this," Lapis replied simply. "You didn't address the question about not liking Earth."

"I like Earth. I'm not sure I love it, though," Pearl chewed on her lip. It was an uncomfortable topic for her. "My entire reason for being here was Rose."

"I sort of figured," Lapis murmured.

"Yes, well," Pearl didn't really have anywhere to go with that statement.

"I don't blame you. She was a good leader. I probably would've done anything for Blue Diamond, at one point. I may have given you a lot of crap about your class, but pretty much all gems are taught to obey and keep order."

"I know. That hasn't changed on Homeworld, has it?"

"Definitely not," Lapis moved her hands from beneath her head, laying one across her stomach, and keeping the other at her side. "It seems to have gotten worse."

Pearl nodded her head, though Lapis wasn't looking at her. She let the quiet hang between them for a few minutes. "I may not love it here, but I don't long to go back to Homeworld anymore. Perhaps if things were different there, but..."

"I understand. As soon as I was free, all I wanted to do was go home. Once there, it didn't take me long to realize my home was gone."

Pearl looked over at Lapis, "I do wish I could take a trip to space, though. This planet does have a lot of interesting things,  and we have a responsibility here, but it gets pretty tiresome after thousands of years."

"I'd bet," Lapis glanced over at Pearl as well. "Why haven't you gone?"

"Well, the off-world wraps don't work. And, really, it's a funny story, but I did design a spaceship once. I wanted to take Steven to see some more of the universe. It didn't work out very well."

"Oh? Why not?"

"He's part human. A quick trip for us, about 50 years, would be a long time for his family and friends. Maybe when they're no longer around, we can do it." Saying it was a bit morbid to Pearl, although if she had no connection to Steven she knew she wouldn't care much about human death.

Lapis was unfazed. "That's a good idea, then. If I'm still around, I may ask to join you."

Pearl smiled at her, "I can't see any problem with it."

"Excellent."

The two of them broke eye contact and looked up at the stars in unison a moment later. Silent hung over them again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was relaxing, just taking time to lay there and listen to the gentle crash of waves on the shore. Pearl felt more at peace than she had in a while.

"I think I need to do this more often," Pearl stated.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Pearl let her arm drop to the side, her hand falling next to Lapis'. "It's very calming. I have difficulties being calm sometimes."

Lapis snorted, "No, really?"

Pearl scoffed and glanced over, not moving her head fully. "Hard to believe, I know."

"It's funny. You're a very weird, specific mix of graceful and anxious. One wouldn't think that the two could co-exist so well in a single being."

Pearl snickered and shook her head from side to side. "I'm strange. I know that."

"Just like everyone else," Lapis inched her hand towards Pearl's between them. "You're right, though. This is the most relaxed I think I've been since.. a long time." Lapis put her hand on top of Pearl's. Pearl looked over at her,  a hint of surprise on her features. She flipped her hand beneath Lapis', so their palms were together. Lapis smiled at her.

"It's funny, how fast things can change," Lapis murmured a moment later, breaking their gaze yet again to look upwards again.

"I agree. Even funnier to consider how very long things stayed the same before, all of a sudden, they were entirely different," Pearl breathed slowly through her nose.

"Rose?" Lapis asked, head turning back to Pearl again. Pearl didn't look her way, but squeezed their hands together.

"We were here for so long, just us, doing our own thing. We rarely interacted with humans. Then, everything changed. It was a little slow to start, by human standards, but..."

"It feels yesterday that she was still here, doesn't it?"

Again, Pearl didn't answer right away. "You're too good at that," she laughed, but it was rather humorless.

"It doesn't even feel as if it's been a terribly long time since I was with Blue Diamond," Lapis told her, squeezing her hand back.

"Time is so weird," Pearl replied.

Lapis laughed, "You're right. It is."

The two of them fell quiet again after that. A while later, Pearl shifted, moving a little closer to Lapis. They readjusted their hands, and sighed. It was a little chilly outside, but temperature didn't bother either of them much at all, so they were fine in their respective summery outfits. Pearl absently stroked her thumb along the side of Lapis' hand.

Eventually, Lapis let go of her hand to roll onto her side, facing Pearl. "So," she started, putting her hands under her cheek.

"Hmm?" Pearl looked over at her, shifting so she was sorta facing Lapis as well, but not on her side entirely.

"What's going on between you and Garnet?"

Pearl wasn't expecting that. Her cheeks went light blue and she glanced away for a moment. "We're... romantically involved."

"What's that like?" Lapis asked, bending her knees to curl her body.

"What do you mean? It's... lovely? We're, uh, fairly physical in our affections, but I rely on her, emotionally  a lot of the time. Sometimes I'm not really sure what she sees in me," Pearl laughed again, but it wasn't very genuine.

Lapis rolled her eyes. "You're good company. You're dedicated, an excellent planner. Surprisingly funny. And, you're pretty. I guess she sees that too."

"Thank you," Pearl said earnestly, blushing darker. "Still, I mostly worry that I take more than I give with her. She's so put together, strong. She handles things so  _well_. I do think we work well together, and I make myself open to her. But she's so composed, sometimes I worry she's just humoring me, but we've been together for almost a hundred years or so now. Even though I'm not sure I deserve Garnet, I'm selfish enough to not question it too much."

"I get the feeling she's the type that wouldn't be involved with somebody unless she genuinely wanted to or completely had to for a very important reason, and I'm just going to guess you're the former, so don't worry so much. And, not to sound cruel, but you don't need her as much as you may think you do. You're stronger than you realise on your own."

"Worrying is kind of my thing, Lapis," Pearl grimaced at her and Lapis laughed. "And.. thank you, for that. You're incredibly good at knowing the right thing to say."

"I know, I know, you're worrisome. And I'm glad you think that, but I think I come off as blunt more often than I need to. Anyway," Lapis paused, thinking, "I guess don't really understand romance all that well. Back on Homeworld, I had friends that were in love with each other. I even knew a couple who decided to become a fusion, like Garnet herself. I'm just curious about your dynamic because it seems like everyone has such a different take on love. For instance, you wouldn't want to fuse with Ruby and Sapphire forever, would you?"

"No, I don't think so."

"But Ruby and Sapphire are in love with each other and they decided to do that. You're romantically involved with Garnet, but not in a 'fuse with me' way?"

"Yes," Pearl said, furrowing her brows. "Well, I do like fusing with Garnet, but I wouldn't want to be part of a fusion forever. I think that's partially due to my issues with individuality."

"Aah, of course. I don't think I'd ever want to fuse with somebody long-term either. Not just because of Malachite, either, it's always been that way for me. I guess I just don't really like fusing that much in general," Lapis admitted.

"That's fine. As long as you don't have something against fusion gems," Pearl said, voice careful.

"Oh, definitely not! I'm sure Ruby and Sapphire are lovely, but I like Garnet as she is, for who she is, and the other gems I knew who were fusions were like any other gem. Some fusions are great, some aren't so much."

"Exactly. I love Garnet, and Amethyst, but their fusion," Pearl clicked her tongue. "She's a bit much."

"Who is that?"

"Sugilite."

"Hhmm," Lapis nodded her head. "Does Garnet being a fusion have an effect on your relationship with her? Also, if I'm getting too invasive, just tell me to shut up."

"No, it's fine. It's flattering that you're taking such an interest in me. I find I tend to talk regardless of whether people want to hear me, but it's nice when people actually do."

Lapis laughed at her, "I like talking with you, much more than I anticipated."

"Again, thank you. I think I should mention that I really enjoy speaking to you, too, Lapis. You're wonderful to talk with, honestly."

"Thank you."

"Anyway.. I suppose that's another reason why I'm surprised Garnet loves me, romantically. Ruby and Sapphire are so very close, and Garnet is so well balanced as herself. At first I didn't think she would want to be involved with anyone else, and I sort of worried that she would at least have mixed feelings on the prospect of another relationship."

Lapis listened with her eyes on Pearl, who had one hand in the air waving and gesturing about. She was looking off into the distance as she spoke, collecting her thoughts moments before voicing them.

"I see," Lapis said. "Does Garnet know you're here with me tonight?"

"Oh, yes. That's another thing. With her being in her own relationship, sorta, we're not exactly exclusive. Back when Rose was around, we also had.. something," Pearl sighed, finally looking over to Lapis. "We were romantically involved, I suppose. It was a supportive relationship, and I was very devoted to her as a leader as well as in love with her. We weren't as, um, physically involved as Garnet and I tend to be."

Lapis snickered at that. Pearl blushed again. "I see. Polyamory seemed like a pretty common form of romance when I was on Homeworld, but humans don't tend to do that as much, right?"

"Correct."

"The physical thing, that part I understand. I like being physically close to others. Like, holding hands. I like the dance before the actual fusion. Really, I like intimacy, as fearful of it as I may be sometimes. "

"You don't seem that fearful. I mean, this is intimate, isn't it?"

"It is, yes. Maybe I'm not so much anymore, but I used to be. I feel like I've grown a lot over the past while, though."

"That's good," Pearl smiled. "I'm proud of that."

Lapis smiled back, curling closer to Pearl, "Thank you. Perhaps it's because of all the things I've been through," Lapis spoke slowly now, reflecting inward,  "I don't have much to lose anymore, right?"

Pearl nodded slowly. "I'm sorry that it came from all the pain you've been through, but you are incredibly strong."

"I'm better for it, now, and that's what matters," Lapis replied. Pearl rolled onto her side completely, and put out a hand to stroke along Lapis' cheek. Lapis smiled again, and shut her eyes.

They ended up cuddling closer and staying out until the early hours of the morning. Once in a while, the conversation would start up again, but it was a little less heavy than their initial topics. When the sky started to lighten, they took that as their cue they should begin to move.


	6. Chapter 6

After the night on the beach, Lapis and Pearl only grew closer. They spent a lot of their time together. A few times, they took Steven out into town by themselves. They usually discussed their outings together afterwards, too. They'd converse about human behaviour and the odd trends they saw. Steven was absolutely thrilled to see them getting along, no matter what they talked about. He definitely had an 'I told you so' air about the issue, but Pearl and Lapis couldn't blame him.

In addition, Lapis was growing closer to Amethyst. Lapis enjoyed a lot of the jokes Amethyst cracked, and was even down for some of her wacky antics and shenanigans. She'd often gang up on Pearl with Amethyst, as long as the jokes were light-hearted. However, when there was a serious issue, she could put her foot down. During one instance, she even managed to stop a fight between Amethyst and Pearl in its tracks. They both thanked her for the intervention afterwards, and Steven was entirely impressed.

Lapis didn't go on every group mission, but she was honing her fighting style well. She would spar with Pearl or Garnet once in a while, which helped. She liked to go exploring, but fighting gem monsters often left her feeling drained and uneasy.

She still spent a lot of time reading. Steven asked her to play games with him, when he wasn't busy with other activities. Lapis was happier than she ever thought she would be mere months ago. She did wonder, in the back of her mind, if it may be too good to be true. But, she'd rather hang on to the happiness as long as she could, even if it didn't stay.

More months passed, and everything was still mostly swell. They definitely weren't without their issues, as always. Try as Lapis might to mediate, Pearl and Amethyst still fought. Monsters were still abundant, and the Crystal Gems never felt entirely safe from threat. Lapis had gotten hurt on one of the more recent missions, and had been avoiding them since. But, there was still zero sign of Peridot or any other Homeworld gems. Things were pretty much great aside from the occasional bump in the road.

However, a bump in the road did come by one day, due to a pretty intense mission they had to go on.

"Alright, everybody," Garnet started upon entering the house from the temple. "We need all hands on deck."

Lapis was on the couch with Steven in her lap. He had his phone in his hands, showing her pictures he took on his daytrip with the Maheswaran's. Pearl was brushing Amethyst's hair on the floor, and Amethyst was reading a human magazine about music.

"Sup, G?" Amethyst asked from where she was, looking over to the temple door as she flipped the page of her magazine.

"There's a monster we need to take care of, right away. We're gonna need everyone to help out."

Steven gasped and hopped down from Lapis' lap. "Is it gonna be hard?"

"A little," Garnet said. "Nothing we can't handle. We just need as many hands as possible, cause this one's big. C'mon, we don't have time to waste."

Pearl tossed the brush in her hand to the side and stood up, "We better get going, then."

Steven ran over to the warp pad and hugged Garnet's legs for a moment before looking over expectantly at the other three.

Pearl walked over to the warp, and Amethyst made her way behind her. Lapis was a bit slower. Her face was twisted slightly with unease.

"It'll be alright, Lapis," Garnet told her, putting her hands on her hips.

Pearl held out her hand once Lapis was on the warp pad with them. Lapis took her hand and squeezed it, but said, "I'm fine. I know I'll do better this time."

Steven looked over to her and looked for a second at her hand intertwined with Pearl's. He then grinned up at Lapis, chirping, "I believe in you!"

Lapis brushed a piece of hair behind her ear with her free hand, facial expression giving her a determined look, "Let's go."

After warping to their destination, Lapis let go of Pearl's hand.

"This way," Garnet said, gesturing with her arm to get them all to follow. Everyone hopped off the warp pad to follow as she commanded. They were in a thick, dark forest. Steven wasn't sure if he'd ever been in this place before,  but there was a lot he had yet to explore, so he didn't put much thought into it.

They walked in one direction for a while until they reached an area where the woods were thinner. There, they began to hear some loud, screechy buzzing noises.

"We're almost there," Garnet said, slowing down behind some bushes.

They continue to creep forward for a few steps. Garnet motioned for them to duck down, wanting to keep an element of surprise on their target. She pushed away some tree branches slowly, revealing  a dozen flying gem monsters that resembled earth bees or wasps. Steven cringed at the sight.

"We're gonna have to be careful. Their sting might be poisonous," Garnet warned them in a hushed tone. "Pearl, how do you think we should approach this?"

Pearl looked over at Garnet, then through the bushes again. She hummed and began to formulate a plan of attack, describing it to the others quietly. She made sure to put herself, Garnet, and Amethyst on the offensive, so Steven and Lapis could stay in back, assist, and keep guard rather than be fighting on the front. Pearl's plan involved Amethyst using her weapon to pull the monsters in so she and Garnet could attack them directly.

"Alright," Garnet said, once Pearl was finished explaining. She equipped her gauntlets and stood up slowly. The others drew their weapons, save for Steven of course. He had better control of the shield, but still found it pretty difficult to summon on a whim.

They got to it right away, charging in and taking the monsters by surprise. They did away with the first few easily, and Lapis and Steven just made sure there was nothing attacking from behind as the other three focused their attention on getting the monsters as quickly as possible.

Things became a little more complicated when a larger gem monster flew out during all of the commotion. It was ugly, and had two sets of arms. It dodged when Amethyst first tried to grab it with her whip, and the second time it grabbed the weapon and swung her around.

"Amethyst!" Pearl screamed in concern.

"I did not account for this," Garnet muttered under her breath. She jumped up, trying to grab Amethyst. She had her for a moment, and then the monster let go of the weapon, sending them flying across the clearing.

While that took place, the remaining smaller monsters began to swarm Pearl, Lapis, and Steven. Pearl stabbed at them, they were coming from various angles. As Pearl shot out in front of Steven to defend him, another swooped behind and grabbed Steven by the t-shirt, pulling him away.

"Lapis, Pearl!" Steven cried in distress.

"Steven!" Lapis and Pearl yelled in response.

"I'll get you, don't worry," Pearl said, brandishing her weapon wildly to try to get the monsters away from her. "Unhand him!" she screamed.

Lapis bat one of the monsters away from her long enough to run forward and grab onto Steven's hand, pulling him back. "You heard her, let go!" Lapis grit her teeth, and gave a yank. The monster wasn't as strong as her, so Steven was ripped from its grip and they tumbled backwards into Pearl.

Pearl yelped, flinging her weapon forward so she wouldn't fall onto it.

"Sorry!" Lapis yelled. As they tried to get their bearings, the monsters swarmed closer. Pearl twisted around and put her arms around Steven and Lapis. They cowered there for a few moments, before Pearl and Lapis began to swat their arms in a desperate attempt to get rid of the things.

"I have an idea!" Steven said, but it was muffled by the two gems closed around him. "Guys, stop for a second!!"

Pearl and Lapis looked at him with confused expressions, but temporarily stopped trying to get the monsters away and simply tried to avoid any bites from them.

Steven closed his eyes in order to focus, and then created a bubble around the three of them, pushing the monsters out. "There! It won't hold forever, but maybe we can roll away to safety. And try to find Garnet and Amethyst."

"Excellent idea, Steven!" Pearl hugged him, then stood up in the room she now had. She and Lapis were still close, their shoulders touching as they stood. Steven turned in the direction of the woods they entered from, then put his hands to the bubble. Pearl and Lapis stood behind him and pushed as well, walking together. The monsters were still hovering near their bubble, but not attacking as much. They moved forward a few steps before their bubble was hit by something with a great force, but it wasn't a monster. Pearl whipped her head around to see Amethyst's weapon pulling away one of the monsters. The whip nicked the bubble again a moment later and another monster was dragged back.

"We found Amethyst," Lapis said. Steven laughed and hooted.

Pearl cracked a smile, and the three of them stood still while Amethyst (and presumably Garnet) saved them.

Once the monsters were all pulled off, Steven popped the bubble. Pearl hooked her arm in Lapis' as they walked over to the other two. Garnet was rubbing her arm against her forehead, but she looked relieved.

"Thanks for saving us!" Steven bounced over to them.

"It's sorta our job to look out for you, buddy," Amethyst laughed.

"Yes, thanks for getting those away from us," Lapis put her hand on Pearl's arm and drew closer to her. "It was a bit tight there for a moment."

"We made it out perfectly fine thanks to you two," Pearl smiled at Garnet and Amethyst. "Did you get the gems?"

"Yep," Amethyst said. "Garnet's got 'em."

"As always," Garnet responded. She looked at Pearl for a moment. "Well, we can leave now."

The others nodded. Lapis made no move to let go of Pearl as they turned to go back the way they came. Garnet stood on the other side of Pearl, and Pearl smiled absently at her before turning back to Lapis. They walked the entire way back with their arms linked, talking to each other about something from a conversation earlier that day. Garnet ended up falling behind them to walk next to Amethyst, arms over her chest.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Once they reached the warp pad in the woods, Steven hopped up on first. Pearl and Lapis joined him, together, then Garnet and Amethyst. They warped together, then walked off into the house.

"Amethyst, do you want me to finish brushing your hair?" Pearl asked, looking over her shoulder at her.

"Hmm, nah. We can do it some other time."

"When that happens, it'll be in a worse state than before I started." Pearl stated, deadpan.

"Probably. I'm gonna go hang out on the beach."

Pearl clicked her tongue, "Okay, whatever."

"Brush my hair?" Lapis suggested, finally letting go of Pearl's arm.

Pearl shrugged her shoulders and smiled a little, "Okay." She went to pick up the brush from the floor, and sat on the couch so Lapis could sit in front of her.

Garnet sort of stood back, but she didn't go into the temple right away. She bubbled the gems she'd collected and phased them away, then looked over to Steven. He was over at a shelf looking for something to do. Garnet looked over at Lapis and Pearl, they were immersed in conversation with each other yet again. She sighed inwardly, then went over to Steven.

"Do you want to play a game with me?"

Steven looked over with stars in his eyes, "Of course!! What game do you want to play?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Okey doke!" Steven pulled a box from the shelf, then looked back at Garnet, "Should we ask Lapis and Pearl to join us?"

Garnet pressed her lips together, "Well, we can. I think they're a little preoccupied with each other, though, don't you?"

Steven looked over at them. The brush was hanging from Pearl's hand, because Lapis was twisted around to look at her, laughing about something. Pearl began to laugh as well, putting her free hand to her own cheek.

"Yea," Steven sighed happily. "They're so cute! Do you think they, y'know, like each other?" Steven looked up at her expectantly.

It was times like this Garnet wondered if she and Pearl should have decided to tell Steven they were seeing each other. Human romance seemed much different than gems'. It was more narrow, in a way. So, they didn't want to confuse him with their relationship at such a young age. They also didn't tell him the details of their relationships with his mother, especially not Pearl's. This new development would potentially make the future conversation even more confusing for him, though, so maybe they should have disclosed some information earlier. She sighed and shrugged, "Maybe, yeah."

Steven made a gasping noise, "Awwwh. Do you think they'll ever fuse?" he spoke more quietly now.

"Temporarily, maybe. Long term, no," Garnet muttered.

"How come?"

"Pearl wouldn't want to stay fused, not like Ruby and Sapphire anyway."

"How do you know? She was awfully eager to fuse with you that one time."

"She likes fusing with me," Garnet told him, "but wouldn't do so long term. She's told me before."

"Oh," Steven said. It never occurred to him that they'd have had this conversation, but he guessed it made sense.

"Fusion isn't the only way gems express love, and it's not always an expression of love. Surely you remember Lapis' last fusion. Malachite was made from something very far from love, Steven."

"Yeah, of course. Gems show love by kissing and hugging and stuff, like humans," Steven grinned, then hugged Garnet around the legs. She laughed and leaned to hug him back.

"Exactly," Garnet smiled fondly, cheering up a little from Steven's genuine affection.

"And brushing each other's hair," Steven added.

Garnet's smile dropped a bit and she looked back over to Lapis and Pearl. Pearl was, indeed, back to brushing  through Lapis' hair, but she was doing so with her fingers rather than the brush. Garnet knew she shouldn't be bothered by their interactions. She had made it clear to Pearl that she was totally fine to pursue something with Lapis if she wanted.

Truthfully, she didn't mind that they liked each other. She was glad to see Lapis fitting in so well, and glad that Pearl was no longer being tormented by the gem. However, she felt jealousy creeping up every once in a while, when Pearl did things that were normally reserved for her. Pearl tended to grab Garnet's arm when they were close, for instance. She'd been doing that for an incredibly long time. Now, not only did Pearl tend to stand close to Lapis, but she also reached for her more often too. That wasn't to say she never touched Garnet or looked her way, of course she still did. She still looked at Garnet with love in her eyes, stood on the tips of her dancer's toes to kiss her when they were alone. There was no reason for Garnet to be jealous.

Ruby and Sapphire didn't know how to deal with jealously much on their own. When alone they didn't really have eyes for anyone but each other. Of course, they both enjoyed the company of Pearl and were happy Garnet loved her so much. Garnet was sort of at a loss. So, she buried the feelings.

"Anyway, we should still ask them if they want to play. It's considerate."

Garnet cleared her throat and straightened her back, nodding her head. "Of course."

Steven went over them and Garnet trailed behind. Pearl was currently pushing Lapis' hair around, laughing, "What about this, then? I think it's a nice style."

"You flippin' dork, quit that!" Lapis groaned and laughed as well, swatting at Pearl's hands.

"Hey guys!" Steven interrupted their squabble. "Wanna play a game with us?"

"What game?" Pearl asked.

"Sure," Lapis answered for them, at the same time. She tilted her head back and smirked at Pearl, who huffed at her.

"Guess it doesn't matter then, we're playing."

"You don't have to play just because Lapis is," Garnet pointed out, though perhaps it came out a bit colder than she intended. She got confirmation that it did from the look on Pearl's face. She felt like she should say something to reverse it, but any words got caught in her throat.

"I will play, though," was Pearl's response.

Steven looked between them, but shrugged off the tension as he was so used to doing. He pushed the coffee table closer, and Pearl got off the couch to sit at it with Lapis. Garnet sat opposite to her. When Pearl placed her hands up on the table, Garnet reached over and placed her hand over Pearl's in a gesture of remorse. Pearl looked over and smiled, placing her other hand on top of Garnet's as if to say she wasn't bothered. The let go as Steven started to set up the game board for them to play.

Soon enough, they were all playing the wacky game Steven had picked out. It wasn't the one about the kitchens or whatever, but had something to do with a mall and shopping. Pearl was pretty good at it, but Lapis hardly understood so she just did whatever it was Steven recommended to her. Garnet did her best, as always, but Pearl was still in lead.

Garnet ended up coming in second, and Steven in third. "I like this game," Pearl stated, now kneeling to help Steven dismantle the setup.

"Because you won," Lapis said, sticking her tongue out at her.

"So? There's nothing wrong with being proud of accomplishments," Pearl said, matter of fact.

"Ah, yes, the great achievement of winning a board game," Lapis teased.

"You're just sour because you lost," Garnet said.

Lapis glanced over at her, and Pearl laughed. Lapis then turned her attention to Pearl with a vaguely confused expression.

"She's just joking around with us, Lapis," Pearl explained delicately.

"Oh," Lapis said. She cracked a little smile, but it wasn't very sincere. She wasn't really used to Garnet's dry sense of humor yet, favouring Amethyst's more crass but obvious jokes.

Garnet frowned, feeling silly for even trying to include herself in their jokes. She wasn't used to feeling insecure in this way, so it made her feel worse that she was even having this reaction.

Steven looked between the three of them, a frown forming on his lips. He wasn't sure what the issue was, now, but he wanted to help. Maybe he should bring it up with Amethyst, since she didn't seem to be involved in any way.

"Anyway. Let's go put the game away, Steven," Pearl said, standing up and handing him the box with the game in it.

"I'm gonna go to my room," Lapis said a moment later. "See ya, Garnet," she stood up, then went over to the temple door to do as she said she would.

"Bye," Garnet answered.

Pearl walked back over to the couch, sitting down wordlessly.

"I'm gonna go hang out on the beach," Steven repeated Amethyst's earlier statement. "I'll be back for supper!" he called.

Garnet continued to sit at the coffee table, lost in thought as she tried to work out her foreign feelings.

"Garnet," Pearl said, leaning forward a bit.

Garnet didn't respond.

"Are you there?" Pearl furrowed her brows, waving her hand in front of Garnet's eyes.

"Huh?" Garnet looked up at Pearl."Yea, I'm here. Lost in thought, sorry." 

"It's fine," Pearl said, smiling delicately. "You alright?"

"Me? I'm perfectly okay. Don't worry," Garnet answered a tad quickly, but Pearl wasn't in the habit of questioning Garnet's judgement often, so she just nodded her head.

"O-okay, then. You know you can tell me if things aren't, right?"

"Of course," Garnet said, then she moved to stand. "I'm also gonna go to my room." Garnet left without another word.

Pearl couldn't shake the feeling something was off, but she wanted to trust Garnet would come to her if she had any issues. For now, she let it be, and went about tidying up the space she was in, putting the coffee table back so it was centered in the room rather than pushed near the couch, and whatnot.

Meanwhile, when Steven went down to the beach, he couldn't find Amethyst right away. He walked around for a bit before he started to call her name, really wanting to bring this up to her while it was still relevant.

"Amethyst!" Steven yelled, looking around as he walked forward. Because he wasn't watching where he was going, he managed to trip over a lump in the sand he hadn't seen and fell with an 'oof'.

"Ugh," Steven started, as he slowly pushed himself up again.

"Hey," Amethyst said from beside him, which startled Steven and caused him to fall back over, onto his side. It was only then he realised he was lying on top of the gem he was looking for, who had apparently been covered in sand.

"Amethyst, what are you even doing?"

"I buried myself," she said, sitting up some. Steven was on her legs right now, and she was giggling. She started brushing the sand off herself and Steven covered his eyes and closed his mouth to avoid getting it in either orifice.

He groaned at her. "Stop that," he said in a muffled voice, but there was some humor to it as well because she was still snickering and her laugh was often infectious.

"Okay. Why were you yelling for me?" Amethyst said, putting her hands on the sand at her sides and leaning back a little so Steven could move if he wanted to. Steven finally pushed himself back and stood up to brush sand downward off his outfit, then sat in front of Amethyst and crossed his legs.

"I want to talk to you. I don't know what, but I think there's something going on with Lapis, Garnet, and Pearl. Everything has been going so well lately, but all the sudden Garnet seems really tense around Lapis again, but Pearl's happier than ever. I just wanted to see if you noticed something with them too."

Amethyst thought for a moment, "Hmm. Nope."

Steven frowned at her, "Are you sure?"

"I haven't really noticed anything off. I'll keep an eye out, but I don't think it's anything to worry about, bud. Lapis just doesn't hang around with Garnet as much as Pearl and I, maybe Garnet just feels a little left out? I'm sure she'll get over it."

Steven pursed his lips. He hadn't thought that Garnet might feel excluded because Lapis was closer to the rest of them than she was to her. Garnet just seemed so confident in herself, he didn't think something like that would bother her, but of course nobody wanted to feel left out!

"Okay, thanks Amethyst," Steven said after a moment of thought. He stood up and shook any remaining sand off himself, then extended a hand to help Amethyst off the ground too.

"No problem," Amethyst smiled and ruffled Steven's hair, getting some of the sand out of it. "We're probably gonna need baths," she mused. "My hair's super messy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Steven said.

Amethyst snickered, "Pearl's gonna be so mad. She almost got it into a manageable state this morning."

Steven shook his head at her and grabbed her hand to walk back up to the house.


	8. Chapter 8

After what Steven said to her on the beach, Amethyst was a little more attentive to whatever was going on between Garnet, Pearl, and Lapis. She knew Garnet and Pearl had been romantically involved for a while now, before Rose had even met Greg. She also knew that their relationship wasn't exclusive, at least on Pearl's part. Garnet didn't seem to be interested in anyone else, but Pearl had already been in love with Rose when she first became enamored with Garnet. She seemed to be capable of falling for others if Lapis was any indication.

Because of Pearl's past with Rose, Amethyst figured Garnet wouldn't really give a damn if Pearl got a little lovey-dovey with Lapis. However, if Steven thought Garnet was acting strange, maybe there was something going on.

Over the course of the next week, Amethyst didn't notice much at all. Garnet spent a lot of her time alone, which wasn't really that atypical of her, but it made it difficult for Amethyst to tell if something was up. Lapis and Pearl spent a bunch of time together, which had become the norm since they got over their rocky start. When Garnet was around, she did seem a bit stiff with Lapis, but she was always monotone, and she didn't treat Amethyst any differently. She also seemed normal around Pearl, so Amethyst figured Steven was just reading into things too much.

One afternoon, Amethyst was a little irked. She'd misplaced something in her room and it was bugging her because she wanted to use it to do something cool for Steven. Usually she wouldn't let something like this get to her. Of course, when she mentioned she couldn't find it, Pearl jumped right on her back, going on about how if her room weren't such a mess all the time she'd be able to find her stuff. 

Amethyst scowled at her, crossing her arms over her chest as she listened to Pearl blabber on. Garnet walked into the room and leaned against the counter, observing their fight wordlessly. Lapis was in the living room, but she, too, trailed over to them quietly. She only sometimes tried to stop their fights nowadays, because they didn't amount to much a lot of the time.

"Are you finished chewing me out for not being a total, anal neat freak now?"

"I am not an anal neat freak!"

"One, yes you are! Two, I didn't even actual say that you were,  _Pearl_ , you just take everything way too personally."

"No I don't!"

"That's a lie!"

"Well," Pearl stood up putting her hands on her hips, "be that as it may, you also take everything  _I_ say way too personally too."

"I do not!" Amethyst growled, taking a step forward.

"Yes you do," Pearl accused, throwing her hands up in the air. "You pick fights with me and take the things I say as personal attacks rather than suggestions."

"They aren't just suggestions! You have a negative comment to say about everything I do, how am I not supposed to take it personally?"

By now, Pearl was making gestures with her arms, eyes narrowed, "Maybe I have negative things to say because you react negatively to everything I do, too, Amethyst! You make fun of me for every single mannerism I have, my looks, my likes, my neatness!"

"Oh, so you're the victim here? That's rich! I wouldn't bug you so much if you didn't judge me  _constantly_  because I'm not some perfect, obedient gem like  _you've_  always been."

Pearl's eyes went wide at that. Amethyst realized that she shouldn't have said that, but she was still upset, so she just growled again and turned to stalk over to the temple and go into her room.

Garnet and Lapis were both pretty stunned by that show. They both felt like she should've intervened, Garnet particularly, because she should've predicted how the conversation might go but didn't in this instance.

Garnet parted her lips and moved to go over to Pearl, but Lapis had taken a string of water from the pitcher from the counter and pulled Pearl close to her with it.

Pearl frowned and put her arms around Lapis, who returned the water to the vase and wrapped her arms around Pearl as well. Garnet stood by, at a loss. She wanted to offer comfort, as well, but Pearl wasn't even looking her way. She had her face buried in Lapis' neck, and Lapis was quietly murmuring something to Pearl.

Garnet turned away. She couldn't just stand there, watching her lover be held like that. She walked down and out the door, and started down the steps. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She was entirely shocked by her own reaction. She knew it was irrational, but that didn't stop her from feeling that way.

"Hey Garnet!" Steven and Connie greeted her cheerfully. She didn't respond. She pressed her hand to her glasses, her eyes feeling a little prickly. She kept walking.

Steven and Connie looked at each other, entirely baffled. They started to follow her. "Garnet," Steven called. "Did you hear me? We said hi."

Garnet just kept walking with her head down, trying to work through her emotions. She was the one who Pearl went to for comfort. Even when Rose was around, it was fairly equal, with Pearl turning to Garnet at least half the time,  _especially_  when Amethyst was involved. Rose was the main mediator of their problems and tried to remain impartial. Of course, Pearl and Amethyst had gotten along much better when Rose was around. All their dynamics had shifted when she was no longer around, but still. Garnet was there for Pearl. That was part of her role as a partner, it made Garnet feel wanted and needed, maybe more than Garnet ever realized it did.

"Garnet! What's wrong, why are you ignoring us?" Steven jumped along beside her. Garnet wasn't walking too fast, so Steven was able to jump in front of her. She stopped before running into him, and made a little noise in the back of her throat as she tried to keep herself from actually crying here.

"Leave me alone, Steven," she gritted out, stepping to the side and continuing on her way.

Back at the house, Pearl regained her composure fairly quickly. She took a few deep breaths with Lapis, then let go of her. "Thank you," she smiled.

"No problem. I should've stepped in before it escalated that far."

"Lapis, no," Pearl put her hand on her arm. "That's not your responsibility. Amethyst and I need to learn to stop fighting so much. I need to stop getting so heated about things that are arbitrary and realize that what I think is helpful doesn't apply to everyone," Pearl looked down. "Furthermore, I need to tell Amethyst that myself."

Lapis nodded, then put her hands on Pearl's face. "It's okay. She's not going anywhere. Unless she tries to run away again, but even then, I doubt that'll happen."

Pearl sighed and Lapis dropped her hands. Pearl looked around for a moment later. "I'll let Amethyst cool down before trying to talk to her. She probably feels bad for what she said to me.." Pearl licked her lips and kept scanning the room. "Did you see where Garnet went?"

"Nope," Lapis shrugged.

Pearl frowned. She was used to clinging to Garnet when she was in distress, but she'd been doing it a little less lately since she and Lapis became joined at the hip. She still wanted to draw some comfort from Garnet, but perhaps that was a bit selfish of her, so she shrugged it off. "Well. I'm sure I'll see her later."

"Most likely," Lapis said, hopping up on a stool.

Pearl rubbed her arm, and turned her attention to the door when Steven and Connie burst in. It didn't help that Steven was screaming for Amethyst.

"Amethyst is in her room, Steven," Pearl said, her tone a bit clipped. She recognized that they were both at fault for the argument, as she said to Lapis, but Amethyst's words still hurt her.

"Can you let me into your room so I can go to hers? Please?"

Pearl frowned, "Uh, alright. She might a little upset, Steven." She and Lapis exchanged confused looks, but Pearl went down to do as Steven asked her. Connie stayed behind, sitting on the couch with a concerned look on her face.

Steven scrambled down the waterfall that he knew would take him to Amethyst's room. "Amethyst!" he called out to her.

"What?" Amethyst yelled back.

Steven turned a corner to see Amethyst against a junk pile, sitting with her knees to her chest and frowning.

"Everyone is upset and I don't know why."

"Pearl and I had a big fight. Again. I said something I shouldn't have, but I was too angry to take it back so I just ran away," Amethyst explained, voice bitter.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Pearl seemed pretty okay, though. Better than Garnet, at least."

"What's wrong with Garnet?" Amethyst asked, looking up at Steven with a question on her face.

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me."

"And Pearl's alright?"

"Well, she seemed a bit cranky, but she and Lapis were just in the kitchen sitting together. Garnet was walking outside covering her eyes and she got mad at me when I asked what was up."

"That's pretty distinctly un-Garnet," Amethyst agreed. She heaved a big sigh. "I don't know what wrong with her, though. Maybe she and Pearl and Lapis fought after I ran in here? It would've have to been short, cause I literally just came down here."

"Maybe," Steven pouted. "When you're feeling a bit better, will you come try to find her with me? I should probably go back to Connie, but I'm just worried."

Amethyst sighed and got up. "As long as I don't have to talk to Pearl while I'm out there, I can come with you now. Maybe it'll get my mind off all this business to try and help Garnet with whatever."

Steven hugged her tightly, "You're the best, Amethyst."

"I know," Amethyst cracked a smile and hugged him back. They left her room in the temple, and saw that Lapis and Pearl were down on the couch with Connie.

"Hey, Connie," Steven called. "We're gonna go try to find Garnet."

"Is she lost?" Pearl asked, brows furrowed.

"Uhh.. maybe? She was just acting kinda strange. Don't worry about it!" Steven answered, pulling Amethyst toward the door. Connie bid goodbye to Pearl and Lapis and went over to join them

Pearl frowned again, a knot tying in her abdomen. "O-okay. Don't be too late, it's almost time for supper."

"We won't," Steven yelled back to her, then let the door close.

The three of them walked around the beach for a bit, then started to go a little further. It was Connie who first noticed there seemed to be a figure atop the cliff that the temple was on, and when they got a little closer it was obvious to see it was Garnet.

Amethyst turned to Connie and Steven. "I think I got this, you two. You should probably go back home."

"Are you sure?" Connie asked.

"We wanna help," Steven said.

"Look," Amethyst said, "There are some things Garnet might say to me that she wouldn't say around you guys, just because our relationship is a little different."

Steven frowned and nodded slowly. There was lots of stuff he didn't know about the Crystal Gems, so that made sense.

"Okay. Tell us how it goes," Steven said. He was a bit sad he couldn't help Garnet, but he turned to Connie and smiled. "I'm hungry anyway."

"Yeah," Connie agreed. "Let's go back." She, too, wanted to know what was going on, and to help, if she could. But, she realized they were being bigger helps by knowing the boundaries.

Amethyst turned around to see what Garnet was doing. It appeared she was getting up. She had been in a position like Amethyst's earlier, hunched over and curled into herself, but now she was standing. She clenched her fists and her gauntlets appeared. Amethyst scurried back, not wanting to be seen. She promised Steven she would talk to Garnet, but she first wanted to see where Garnet was going. She hid behind some rocks and watched Garnet walk back onto the beach, then go nearer to her. Amethyst cowered back a little, but Garnet didn't she her. She picked up a hunk of rock, and threw it up into the air, then launched forward to smash it in the direction of the ocean. Amethyst watched her do that a couple more times before deciding it was time to approach her.

Amethyst stood up, and walked up to Garnet's side as she landed from hitting another rock into the air. If she noticed Amethyst there, she made no indication. So, Amethyst sighed. "Hey, Garnet. What's up?"

"Nothin," Garnet responded, looking back at the rocks. Probably picking her next victim.

"Funny. Doesn't seem like nothing. You just have it out for rocks all of the sudden..?"

"They're ugly."

"They've been here for ages, why do you only care now? And if you wanna hit stuff, why don't you find some gem monster? At least that would be productive."

"Why do you care, Amethyst? Did you like these rocks so much?"

"They're alright. But, no, I don't care that you're smashing rocks. I just wanna know why."

"No reason."

"You should win an award for your performance, because that was soooo convincing, Garnet. Geeze. I'm practically moved to tears."

Garnet put her hands on her hips, growling, "Again, why do you care?"

"Uh, cause I care about  _you_  doofus! Obviously something is bothering you. Steven's all worked up about it, too. He says you've seemed off for a while and I never really caught on, but this isn't usual behaviour."

Garnet crossed her arms over her chest. Perhaps she should open up to Amethyst. She might get laughed at, or brushed off, but maybe it would be better than containing all of her emotions.

"Gaarrnet," Amethyst said in a sing-song voice. "C'mon. Tell ol Amethyst what's wrong. Let's sit."

"Fine," Garnet huffed. They went back to the remaining rocks and Garnet put her gauntlets away. She even took off her glasses, sitting with her knees bent, but she wasn't as closed over at before.

"Pearl doesn't pay attention to me anymore," Garnet blurted out. No use beating around the bush once she decided to tell Amethyst what was going on.

Amethyst put her hand to her mouth, almost snorting, but she managed to keep herself contained. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be a helpful friend. She swallowed and nodded. "Okay. I disagree with that statement, but let's look at it. Why do you think that?"

Garnet groaned. "I know she still pays attention to me. _Sometimes_. But she's so preoccupied with Lapis that I've been pushed to the backburner. I shouldn't feel like this, because I told Pearl she could do whatever she liked with Lapis. But, today, after your argument with her, Pearl turned straight to Lapis. Usually she would come to me in that situation, but she didn't even glance my way. I feel like things have really changed between us, and I'm not sure how to move forward." Garnet covered her face with her hands again.

Amethyst felt that saying "who needs Pearl anyway" would be pretty rude, and although she was still mad at her, she knew she should help Garnet to her fullest ability because they were all teammates, as dysfunctional as they could be, and they worked best as a unit rather than a jumbled mess of issues. So, Amethyst took a deep breath. "Look, I'm pretty sure after 100 years of being together, Pearl hasn't just forgotten about you just because some hot new chick stepped in."

"It's been eighty-three. Maybe she's bored with me," Garnet murmured.

"How long has Pearl loved Rose? She's still not over her, not that any of us are, but whatever. Pearl doesn't just stop feeling things, Garnet. I can say, without a doubt, she's still in love with you too."

Garnet put her forehead on her knees, closing her eyes. "I just wish she would spend more time with me, but I don't want to have to tell her that, because I know she's happy when she's with Lapis."

Garnet looked up again when Amethyst started talking to her softly, "You make her happy, too, Garnet. You always have. Y'know, Pearl kinda worries she's a burden sometimes, so she probably doesn't realize you want her attention."

"And I've made no indication I do. Apparently I'll I've done is lash out at Steven," with that, Garnet plopped her face back down on her knees.

Amethyst couldn't help but laugh a little. Honestly! It was so,  _so_ rare for any of them to see Garnet upset. If anyone, it would Pearl. It was sort of terrible, and Amethyst knew that, but it was nice to see Garnet could be as irrational as any one of them sometimes.

"What's funny?" Garnet groaned at her.

"Nothing. You're just so... not perfect. Y'know Pearl tries her damn hardest to be perfect, but you're the one who always seems perfect, and it always looks effortless. I'm surprised Pearl doesn't get mad at you for that, but maybe I don't always give her enough credit."

"Really?" Garnet deadpanned.

"Yeah, yeah. I know I made an ass of myself earlier," Amethyst admitted with a grimace

"Did you apologize for that?"

"Not yet. I know I shouldn't have said it. She just, ugh, gets so under my skin sometimes."

"You're both a mess," Garnet told her.

"Well, you are too," Amethyst pointed out, waving her arm in front of her as if to reference Garnet's current state. "That's what I was laughing about. You don't show it, but you don't have everything figured out like you seem to."

Garnet lifted her head again and picked up her sunglasses, putting them on her face. "I never actually claimed that I do, you all just seem to assume it of me."

"Ah, yeah, you have such a hard life.. anyway, we're all messed up, that's just how it is. You should really talk to Pearl, though." Amethyst stood up. If she weren't ridiculously short compared to Garnet, she would offer to help her stand, but alas.

Garnet took the hint and stood up on her own, brushing off her outfit. "Hm. Yea. I probably will."

"Garneeett," Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest.

"I will," Garnet stated. Amethyst didn't quite believe her, but she let it go and they started back up to the house together. 


	9. Chapter 9

When Garnet and Amethyst returned, Pearl and Lapis were washing up after dinner.  Steven and Connie were in the living room drawing together. Pearl turned to the two entering the house, passing off the last dish in the sink for Lapis to dry and put away.

Steven also looked up, wondering what was going on. Garnet looked stoic, as always, and Amethyst had on her neutral expression as well.

Pearl chewed her lip and looked back to Lapis, muttering something. Garnet and Amethyst walked into the house a little further. Pearl dropped the washcloth and stepped away from the sink, walking down to the two of them before they got too far into the house.

"Garnet, are you okay? Steven said he was worried about you," Pearl started, looking at the gem she was addressing. Before waiting for a response, she looked to Amethyst, "and can I speak to you in a minute?"

"Sure," Amethyst responded, then looked at Garnet expectantly.

"I'm fine," Garnet replied. "You two should talk," she said, then stepped to the side and walked off into the temple.

Amethyst groaned inwardly. She hadn't really expected Garnet to bring anything up with Steven so close by, but honestly, she could've at least said she'd talk to Pearl about it later!

"Okay," Pearl answered, then looked over to Amethyst, who was scowling. "I want to tell you I'm sorry. You hurt my feelings, and I know you know that, but I provoked you in the first place. I know I need to realize that the things I consider helpful don't work for everyone, and I shouldn't make a big deal of things that hardly even effect me."

Amethyst blew air out of her mouth, "Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten so irritated with you, either. And I definitely shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't mean it."

Pearl's expression softened, "I know. We all say things we don't mean when we're angry. I forgive you."

Amethyst began to smile as well, and the two of them hugged.

Pearl cleared her throat and stood up straight afterwards. "Now, if you don't mind my asking.. what's wrong with Garnet?"

Amethyst whistled. She shouldn't meddle anymore, her talk with Garnet was had. But, she didn't trust Garnet to bring it up on her own, honestly. And Pearl wasn't going to realize she was unintentionally hurting Garnet's feelings any time soon. Didn't she have a duty to her friends to tell Pearl what was going on so she could try to fix it? 

"My room," Amethyst stated. Pearl gave her a confused look, but followed Amethyst into her room nonetheless.

Pearl didn't bother commenting on the mess, she had more sense than that. Amethyst lead her to a space where she had some old furniture set up at a table, with a couple mismatching lamps standing next to the two chairs.

Amethyst hopped up in one of the chairs and Pearl sat opposite of her.

"I'm not sure if Garnet would want me to tell you this," Amethyst started. Pearl clasped her hands together and leaned forward, expression still questioning. "I'm gonna do it, anyway, because I'm not sure Garnet will tell you herself and you're too blind to figure it out on your own."

Pearl huffed, but she was curious and somewhat concerned, so she let that go. "Okay, whatever. What is it?"

Amethyst clapped her hands together, "Well, Garnet is jealous, basically." Yes, she was still enjoying this a bit too much. She was sympathetic, and she wanted to see Garnet back to her old self, of course, and that was definitely the reason she was telling Pearl, rather than leaving it to the two of them to try to work it out on their own. But, the fact remained that it was refreshing to see Garnet less composed than usual.

"Jealous? O-of what?" Pearl tilted her head to the side

"Mostly Lapis, I guess. She's jealous that you cling to Lapis instead of her, anyway."

Pearl looked stunned, "Really?"

"That's what she told me."

Pearl lifted her hand to her face, blushing a little. "I didn't realize. I mean, Garnet has acted a little strange lately, a bit colder than her usual. But I wouldn't have guessed that."

"I know! I mean, I didn't know either. But that's why I told you. I don't want you and Garnet to have a falling out over something that I'm assuming can be fixed."

"Of course! I don't want Garnet to feel like I prefer Lapis over her. I just know that Lapis likes to be.. clung to, if that makes any sense. She's told me she likes it when we latch onto each other, at least."

"Yea, I get that. But Garnet likes it, too, so maybe you should just try to do it more. Maybe grab both of them at the same time! Or, at least go bug Garnet until she tells you what she told me so you can say you didn't mean to make her feel unwanted or anything. You just wanted to make Lapis feel included."

Pearl nodded her head, slowly, "I shouldn't be a big issue to fix. Garnet has told me she doesn't mind my close relationship with Lapis, but I feel I should make it clear to her that said relationship with Lapis is different than my relationship to her." Pearl thought for a moment, then stood up. "Your room leads to Garnet's somewhere, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Amethyst said, standing up as well. She showed Pearl to one of the puddles that lead to an area of Garnet's. "Goodluck," Amethyst told her.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Pearl said. She was nervous, of course, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. She took a deep breath and then hopped into the puddle, landing in Garnet's room. She was familiar with the area, but Garnet wasn't there herself.

Pearl walked forward a few steps, treading quietly. "Garnet?" she called out softly, one hand on her chest as she turned a corner.

She walked a little more before hearing something. It was a thudding sound of some sort, and it wasn't too far away. Pearl walked towards it and called out Garnet's name again, a little louder this time. She turned the next corner to see Garnet in the area she used to spar and train, hitting a modified human punching bag she picked up years ago. She was in different clothes than usual, wearing a tank top and shorts. She looked good, if a little angry.

"Garnet," Pearl said again, hoping to get her attention this time. Garnet stopped punching the bag and clenched her hands to get rid of the weapons she had equipped. She turned to Pearl.

"What brings you here?"

Pearl fiddled with the fabric of the sash tied around her waist as she walked further into Garnet's room.

"I wanted to see you," she said, innocently. "You left right after my spat with Amethyst and I've hardly talked to you since."

"You looked a little busy with Lapis," Garnet told her, crossing her arms over her waist causally.

So she was jealous, it seemed. Amethyst wasn't pulling her leg or anything. Pearl swallowed and frowned. "I was upset, she was trying to comfort me. I... still would've wanted to see you."

"Oh? You didn't look like you needed me around."

Pearl's frown deepened. "Garnet," she started. She didn't want to act as if she knew what was going on, because she didn't want to throw Amethyst under the bus for telling her. So, she framed it as a question. "Does my being affectionate with Lapis bother you?"

Garnet groaned and put her hands on her face. This was not how this was supposed to go. Amethyst told her to bring it up with Pearl, not to bitch her out for something she's not even aware of. She took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes, it bothers me. I know I shoulda just come to you and told you that I wanted more attention instead of lettin it fester, but I know I shouldn't be jealous."

Pearl approached Garnet and put her hands on Garnet's arms, expression soft and sad. "You're right, you should have just come to me, Garnet. It sucks to be jealous, but I know the feeling, and I understand it. I was entirely jealous of Greg when he and Rose started seeing each other. You don't have to feel ashamed about it. If you want more attention, I'll be more than happy to give it to you."

Garnet sighed and moved to take Pearl's hands in her own. "I would like that. I still don't want to get in the way of you and Lapis, I just... I like it when you turn to me when you're in distress."

Pearl giggled a little bit, "So does Lapis. At least my neuroticism benefits somebody, hey?"

Garnet scoffed and let out a light laugh herself.

"Either way, I'll try to be more sensitive. I didn't realize it made that much of a difference for you, and I'm sorry for that."

"It's not really your fault, I never told you. I don't think I even realized myself, until you stopped clinging to me as much. Never know what you have until it's gone, right?"

"That's perfectly understandable." Pearl rolled off her heels to stand on her toes, kissing Garnet's lips. Garnet smiled against her mouth and tilted her head down to kiss Pearl back properly.

"I love you," Pearl reminded Garnet a moment later. "Though Lapis is important to me too, now. But, I think I should mention that I don't feel for her like I do for you."

Garnet dropped her hands to Pearl's waist and looked at her with her brow raised. Pearl couldn't tell, because Garnet's glasses were covering at least half her face. "Yea?"

Pearl nodded her head. "Our relationship is actually very platonic. Lapis has explained to me that she doesn't really understand romance. She doesn't think she's ever felt romantically for anyone. So, while we may have an intimate relationship, it's not the same as my relationship with you, which is very much romantic. Unless I've been mistaken all these years."

"No, we're pretty romantic, babe."

"Right," Pearl smiled and danced her fingers up to Garnet's shoulders. "Either way, I think the three of us should talk together someday soon, to make sure we're all on the same page. I know you're not always the best for communication," Pearl grimaced, hoping she didn't sound too rude, and went on, "but I think we're going to need it if this is to work."

"I agree," Garnet said. "I just thought I could work out my emotions on my own. I didn't really know how to deal with the jealously, but I thought I could make it go away. It didn't work."

"Evidently. It's okay. You're not perfect, I still love you."

"I'm aware. Amethyst made fun of me for breaking down in front of her earlier, because apparently I come off as this totally collected person who has no problems whatsoever."

"Did she really?" Pearl clicked her tongue. "Leave it to Amethyst to try to make light of something like that. But, no offense, you do have your shit together much more often than we do. Not that that should be offensive, but.."

"It's a bit of pressure to handle," Garnet confessed. "I don't want to be seen as the boss, because the title carries weight and responsibility. I'd rather disperse that about the team than take it all on my shoulders. But, because I pick missions, I get the feeling I have higher expectations to fulfil."

Pearl nodded her head."I understand that, Garnet. I promise, I'll never refer to you as my boss. In an everyday situation, at least," Pearl added the last part quickly, tilting her head to the side.

Garnet smirked at her and leaned down to kiss her.

Pearl kissed her back quickly, hugging herself closer to Garnet. Then, she went on, "And if you ever feel like you're overwhelmed, I am here for you. I don't want to be spilling all my issues and problems to you all the time without ever hearing of yours. It makes me feel like you're just humoring me with this relationship, like  _I'm_ unneeded..." Pearl glanced down.

Garnet slid her hand to the small of Pearl's back, "Okay," she said softly. "I don't want you to worry over things, but I should know I don't have to go it alone."

"Exactly. I know I can be nervous and worrisome, but I'm capable of hearing you out and helping you bear some responsibilities." Pearl nuzzled her head against Garnet's shoulder.

"Okay. I know. I just like to be protective, and strong. I want you to know that I'm sure I get as much out of this relationship as you do," Garnet rubbed Pearl's back.

Pearl nodded against her neck, hugghing her tight.

"Also, I think we should tell Steven about us, soon," Garnet said, after a moment.

Pearl lifted her head, and nodded again, "That would probably be a good idea."

"I told him I wasn't interested in any relationship aside from the one my two gems are in, so he'll probably feel a little confused. Maybe betrayed. But, I think he can handle it. We'll have to explain that we didn't want to make things complex and hope he isn't too hurt by being left out of the loop. He also thinks there's somethin romantic going on between you and Lapis."

"Hm, I sort of figured that. I can get Lapis to explain that she doesn't really experience romantic feelings, and explain that I can love you both in different ways but they aren't in confliction."

"Perfect," Garnet squeezed Pearl closer.

"I think we should have a discussion with Lapis before we approach Steven, though."

"Good idea," Garnet smiled.

The two of them stood there hugging it out for a while in a comfortable silence. Pearl was glad the issue with Garnet was so easily resolved, and was thankful for Amethyst bringing it to her attention. Garnet suspected Amethyst might have told Pearl and sent her to Garnet, but she wasn't upset. Everything worked out for the better, and Garnet was greatly relieved.

"Have I told you you're incredibly attractive yet?" Pearl asked as she began to break their embrace, thinking they should probably go check on Steven and Connie soon.

"It's the shorts, isn't it?"

"Definitely the shorts," Pearl nodded her head and giggled. "You're always attractive," Pearl lifted herself up once more to kiss Garnet again. "We should go check on Steven," she added a moment later.

"Mmh, okay," Garnet said, bending forward to kiss Pearl. She held Pearl's narrow hips, not quite ready to let her go yet.

"Garnet," Pearl laughed, but she didn't try to pull away any farther.

"We'll go in a minute," Garnet promised, kissing her again, more forceful this time. Pearl laughed against her lips, but it turned into a moan a second later as Garnet deepened their kiss.

One minute passed, then about five, before Pearl finally broke away from the other gem. "Okay. For real, we should go now."

Garnet laughed at her, "Let's leave then."

"I'll come back here tonight, if you want."

"Definitely," Garnet kissed her on the gemstone, and Pearl blushed.

Garnet took a moment to change back into her regular outfit. After that, they finally left Garnet's room, and then the temple, both with pleasant expressions on their faces.


	10. Chapter 10

Entering the room, Pearl and Garnet could see Lapis sitting with Steven and Connie at the coffee table in the living room. They were playing one of Steven's board games again.

Garnet and Pearl walked over to them, Pearl with her arms wrapped around one of Garnet's. They sat on the couch quietly, not wanting to interrupt the game that was taking place. Pearl untangled herself from Garnet's arm, but remained close as she leaned back on the cushions.

Of course, their mere entrance was a distraction. Especially because of the notable  _lack_ of tension in the room, at least for Lapis and Steven.

"What has you two looking so happy?" Connie was the first to ask, ever curious.

Lapis snickered to herself. Knowing about Garnet and Pearl, her first guess was 'make-up sex', though she didn't know why they'd be making up . There did seem to be an issue earlier that day, but Lapis just assumed Pearl and Garnet liked to deal with their things internally. Apparently they did.

"No reason. We just had a good talk," Garnet stated.

"That's what you're calling it these days?" Lapis snickered even more.

"Lapis," Pearl chastised, instantly knowing what she was getting at. She willed herself not to blush. "Honestly. We were just talking." Mostly.

Garnet thought for a moment, then spoke again. Openness and communication were important in relationships. She cleared her throat, "I had an issue I should have brought up to Pearl a while ago. We ended up discussing it then, and worked through it rather easily once it was put out there. We're just happy it's been resolved."

"Awh, I'm happy to hear that," Steven said with the utmost sincerity.

"Good communication is a key element to good relationships, platonic or otherwise," Connie stated. "I'm also glad you two are happy."

"Oh, yes, communication is important," Pearl agreed. "Speaking of that, Lapis, can we talk to you later?"

"Am I in trouble?" Lapis asked, joking.

"Yes," Garnet responded, a smirk on her face. Pearl nudged her in the side.

" _No_ ," Pearl groaned. "You aren't in trouble. We just have some things we all need to discuss together."

"Is this gem stuff? What about Amethyst?" Steven asked. "And me!" he added after a moment.

"Uh, this isn't exactly gem stuff, Steven," Pearl told him.

Lapis looked up at the two of them, a little confused herself. "What stuff is it?"

"Oh, just.. stuff. We'll explain later," Pearl said, tone serious. They had to come up with a way to delicately let Steven in on everything. They couldn't just accidentally spill it out in a confusing manner.

"Okaaay," Lapis said, frowning a little. "You sure I'm not in trouble?"

"You aren't in trouble, Lapis," Garnet told her honestly, slinging her arm over the back of the couch. Pearl edged closer to her when she did so, wanting badly to snuggle up to her but knowing that would push things too far in front of Steven. Now that the notion had been brought up, Pearl couldn't wait to tell Steven, even if just so they could act more romantic without having to be careful of his presence.

"You should probably finish up your game. Connie's going to have to leave soon," Pearl pointed out politely.

"She's not wrong," Connie said, looking at her watch. "Your dad's going to come pick us up to take me home in twenty minutes."

"Oh wow," Steven said, also looking at Connie's watch. "We're almost done, let's keep playing!"

So, the three of them finished the game, then put it away. By the time that all happened, Greg was there to pick them up as Connie said he would be.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Lapis turned to Pearl and Garnet, who were still on the couch. Pearl had edged closer to Garnet again, in order to put her head on Garnet's shoulder, now that Steven was out of sight.

"Can we talk now?" Lapis asked, blunt.

"Sure," Garnet said. She looked at Pearl, assuming she already came up with something to say.

"You aren't in trouble," Pearl reminded her, then smiled. "The earlier issue was due to some... jealously," Pearl glanced at Garnet, hoping she didn't mind her bringing it up. Garnet nodded as if to tell Pearl to continue. "And I think, to best avoid that type of thing in the future, we just have to talk it out more."

"Jealously?" was Lapis' first response.

Garnet grunted a little, but said, "I was a little jealous of Pearl hanging off you so much. Prior to your arrival, she'd been doing that to me exclusively. I don't mind that you two are close, but I was sorta feeling like Pearl was constantly picking you over me."

Lapis frowned deeply. "I.. didn't realize that."

"It's not your fault, or Pearl's, I should have brought it up right away."

Pearl used the end of Garnet's sentence to jump into one of her own, "And that's why we wanted to talk to you. I care deeply about both of you, and want to continue being intimate with both of you. But, I now realize I have to strike a balance. If either of you feel like I'm not pulling my weight in the relationship, then I want you to let me know."

"Did you mention that we're not really romantic?" Lapis asked Pearl.

Garnet answered the question for her, "She did. I wouldn't care if you were, either, I just don't want to feel cast aside."

"Aah, gotcha. That's valid," Lapis said. "I'm sorry we made you feel that way."

"As I said, it's not your fault," Garnet waved her hand.

"So, everybody is on the same page, now?" Pearl asked, looking between the two. "I'm romantically involved with Garnet, I have an intimate but platonic relationship with Lapis. And, I have to make sure I'm fairly equal in my affections to both of you because I don't want either of you feeling like I love you less than the other."

"Yeah, that sums it up," Lapis said.

"And," Garnet added, "we want to disclose all of this information to Steven."

"Ah, yes, of course," Pearl said. "Steven has caught onto us, Lapis, but he does think it's romantic. He doesn't have any idea Garnet and I are seeing each other, not that I can tell."

"Alright," Lapis said. "It'll probably be better for him to know."

"Yes," Garnet agreed. "And we don't have to hide our affections anymore," Garnet moved her hand from the back of the couch to Pearl's shoulder, which resulted in her nuzzling her head against Garnet.

Lapis nodded her head, "We should tell him as soon as he gets home."

Pearl looked over at her, pressing her lips together, "Right away?"

"Why not?" Lapis said. She started to move from her spot on the opposite side of the coffee table, feeling left out now. She crawled over and sat in front of Pearl, tilting her head back so her head was on Pearl's knees. "No better time than the present."

"We haven't figured out how to tell him, though," Pearl said, reaching her hands forward to play with Lapis' hair.

"Let's do that right now," Garnet suggested.

"It can't be that difficult. We have to be direct with him. Like how you literally just said a few minutes ago. For instance, I could say 'Steven, Pearl and Garnet are what the humans would consider dating, or maybe married or whatever, and Pearl and I are basically super close friends who like to cuddle a lot, and these relationships work alongside each other rather than compete with each other'. Easy."

"Except we've been keepin' this from Steven for a long time, so we need to give him an explanation for why we didn't tell him sooner," Garnet pointed out.

"Right. I wasn't here for that," Lapis said, tilting her head back forward so Pearl had access to her hair. "Still, just explain the reasoning."

Pearl thought about it, lifting her hands from Lapis' hair to press her hands together and hold them to her lips, "I.. think I can come up with something, if you two don't mind me handling it."

"That'd probably be best," Garnet admitted.

"Yeaah, really."

"Hmm. Okay." Pearl kept thinking on it, and the three of them sat quietly together for a while. Pearl eventually started playing with Lapis' hair again. Every once in a while, Garnet would turn to kiss Pearl on the side of the face.

The silence was eventually broken by Garnet. "Steven's coming now." Garnet lifted her arm from Pearl's shoulder and Pearl shifted away from her. Lapis stood up and sat on the other side of Pearl, at a respectable distance as well.

Steven walked in and shut the door behind him, calling a goodbye out to Greg. He turned in and saw the three sitting on the couch and offered a cheerful greeting their way. "Hey guys!"

"Hello, Steven," Pearl said pleasantly. "Do you mind if we have a chat with you before you get ready for bed?"

Steven walked over to them. "Huh, okay. Am  _I_ in trouble..?" he asked carefully.

"No," the three of them responded together.

Pearl ran her hand through her hair and shook her head, "You're not in trouble. We just want to tell you something. Something that we should have told you a while ago, probably. Well, at least with regard to part of the issue."

Steven frowned a bit and tilted his head to the side. "I'm confused."

Pearl touched her hand to her forehead. "One moment. I'm sorry, I've been trying to figure out how to put this for a while now, but it's still pretty jumbled."

"Just relax, Pearl. It's all fine," Garnet said, moving her hand back to Pearl's shoulder.

Lapis wordlessly touched Pearl's leg to show her support as well, and Pearl smiled at the both of them.

"Okay, so," Pearl put her hands together and folded them in lap. "Steven," Pearl took a deep breath as he took a seat on the coffee table in front of the couch to listen to her, "Garnet and I have been keeping the nature of our relationship secret to you for a long time. Well, your whole life, up to this point. The truth is, we've been in a romantic relationship for some time now, about, say, a hundred years, give or take a few," Pearl glanced over to Garnet.

"It's been eighty-three if you want to know the exact number," Garnet stated.

"She and I have been what humans would probably consider dating for eighty-three years now. We're very in love with each other. We never really acted like it in front of you, because we know human romance is a bit different than ours, we didn't want to confuse you, and we didn't think it was entirely important to bring up such matters with you until you were old enough."

Steven looked pretty much awestruck at this point, as well as pretty confused. He looked between Pearl and Garnet a few times. They were dating?

"What about Ruby and Sapphire?" was Steven's first question. "I thought you weren't really interested in other people, Garnet?"

"I'm not," Garnet said. "Because I have Pearl. They're not, either, but they're happy about the relationship even when they're split, which never has happened often. Again, we're sorry we didn't tell you sooner. The longer we waited, the more difficult it became to explain, and we've also had so much going on for the past while that we didn't want to throw this at you on top of it. But, as Lapis pointed out to us earlier, we really should just get to it now."

Steven nodded slowly. "Does my dad know about it?"

Pearl tackled the next question, "We think he might suspect, but, like you, we never really told him directly. We kept to ourselves when he was around with your mother, mostly."

"Did she know about it?" Steven asked.

"Oh, yes, of course. I didn't keep anything from Rose," Pearl said, lifting her hands to her chest. "Amethyst is well aware, too."

Steven nodded again. He took a deep breath through his nose. "While I am a little disappointed you never told me about this... I'm super happy for you two!" Steven hopped off the table and jumped between them, hugging them both. "It's great that you're in love! I don't want you to hide it because of me anymore!"

Pearl and Garnet both hugged Steven. They both laughed gently, and Pearl was the first to pull away. "We aren't quite finished, yet. There's one more element at play."

"Oh?" Steven said, moving to sit on Garnet's lap in order to face Pearl and Lapis. "What's that?"

"My relationship with Lapis," Pearl said. "It's not like my relationship with Garnet, but I'm sure you've noticed we're pretty affectionate with each other. We just wanted to clarify that we are not 'dating', or otherwise romantically involved. We share a close and intimate, but platonic, bond. And Garnet isn't bothered by it, either, as long as I still love her as I always have. And show that often enough."

"And we all love you, no matter what's goin on between us," Garnet reminded him.

Steven giggled and grinned. "So, basically, love is not a limited resource but it presents itself in different ways and can produce different type of relationships?"

"That's about it," Lapis said, smiling at him.

"I'm happy as long as you guys are happy. And I love you all too," Steven said, moving over to Pearl's laps and stretching his arms to get Lapis in on the group hug this time. The three of them complied, squeezing Steven together.

"Um, excuse me," they heard a moment later. "Why wasn't I invited to the cuddle pile? Piles are kind of my thing."

"Amethyst!" Steven yelled, twisting around to try and see her. The three gems accommodated him, easing up on the hug so he could move.

"It was pretty impromptu, or else we would've asked you to join," Lapis said, sounding sincere.

"Come over," Steven said.

Amethyst giggled, "All right." She jumped over to them, and Steven shifted over to be more between Lapis and Pearl so Amethyst could squeeze in next to Garnet.

"Crystal gem cuddle pile!!" Steven yelled, reinitiating the hug with renewed vigour.

The gems all laughed at his enthusiasm. The room definitely had a safe, relaxed, and loving feel to it. It was nice. Hopefully it was something they'd be able to hold onto, remember for future days when things weren't as perfect.

After a few solid minutes like that, they slowly started to break away from the hug. Amethyst moved back to sit on the coffee table, like Steven had done, and he joined her again.

"So, what was that even all about?" Amethyst asked them. "I was just coming out for a snack."

Pearl opened her mouth to tell her, but Steven got to it first. "Pearl told me she and Garnet are in love!! Romantically. And that she and Lapis love each other platonically but do lots of intimate things together."

"Way to go, P! And G. And.. L. Whatever, good job guys," Amethyst grinned at them.

"We're all very pleased that we're finally being open with Steven. And with each other, really," Garnet said, looking over at the two of them.

"Aaah. Does that mean you finally stopped being a baby about your thing from earlier?" Amethyst asked, looking at Garnet.

"I was not bein a baby."

"You were kinda being a baby," Amethyst said. Garnet growled at her, and Amethyst laughed.

"The answer you're looking for is yes," Lapis said, snickering herself. "All former issues have been resolved. And hopefully we've learned our lessons for tackling issues in the future."

"Issues?" Steven asked.

"Nevermind that," Garnet said. "It's not important. As Lapis said, it's resolved, it's in the past, and we're all happy now."

"Okay," Steven accepted that, swinging his legs. "Now that you two are openly dating, are you gonna go on dates?" Steven asked, looking between Garnet and Pearl.

"Perhaps," Garnet said.

"Steven, you know it's getting pretty late," Pearl pointed out, taking things in another direction. "You should probably be getting to sleep soon."

"But Peeaarl. I'm so excited and happy for you, how do you expect me to sleep?"

"In your bed," Lapis answered. Pearl smiled at her.

"Good thinking, Lapis."

"Awh, c'mon. Just a little while longer. Hey, who asked who out between you?" Steven looked over at Garnet again.

"It was pretty mutual. I think I might've been explicit about it first, though," Garnet answered.

Pearl clicked her tongue, "Steven. You have plenty of time to ask us invasive questions about the details of our relationship later. Right now, you should get ready for bed. Isn't your friend Jenny taking you somewhere tomorrow?"

"Oh right! I almost forgot. Okay. I'll as you about your relationship when I get home tomorrow," Steven kept up his grin at her, and Pearl rolled her eyes affectionately.

"We'll answer whatever you ask within reason, tomorrow. Now go get washed up."

Steven hopped down to go do so, and Amethyst went over to the kitchen to get the aforementioned snack she wanted.

"I think I'm gonna go to my room for a while," Lapis said as she stood up. She leaned over to hug Pearl, and smiled at Garnet before she went over to the temple door to leave.

Garnet, having already had her arm around Pearl's shoulder, pulled her closer. "Hm, that went marvellously."

Pearl brushed her cheek against Garnet's playfully. "Yes, it did. Almost too well," Pearl laughed.

They snuggled and laughed at nothing together for a few minutes, relishing in the feeling of finally being open with Steven. After another moment, Garnet grinned and leaned forward to close the distance between their lips, planting a chaste kiss on Pearl's mouth.

Only a moment later, they heard a gasp from beside them. Steven was evidently finished in the bathroom, and had returned just in time to see them smooch.

"Oh my Gooood. You're so cute!!!" Steven gushed. Pearl's face went blue with blush, and she turned her head into Garnet's neck, which didn't really help the situation because Steven thought that was adorable, too.

It also didn't help that Garnet was just laughing in response to it all. Pearl sighed loudly and moved away from Garnet, then stood up. "Okay. Let's get you into bed, young man."

"Okey doke!" Steven giggled and climbed up the stairs. Pearl walked up with him, as she did a lot of the time, and sat on the edge of the bed while he got situated. Garnet also followed them up that night, putting a hand on Pearl's shoulder and leaning down.

Steven settled into his bed, a smile still plastered to his face.

"Goodnight, Steven," Garnet said, bending forward to kiss him on the forehead.

"We love you," Pearl said, tucking his sheets up a little further and kissing him on the cheek.

"And you love each other!" Steven added.

"Yes.  I love Pearl, and Pearl loves me." Steven made a little noise of excitement.

"Oh, and, for the record," Steven said. "I'm also really glad you and Lapis are so close, Pearl. But I just can't believe you two have been  _dating_  this whole time!! Except I kind of can, cause Pearl always tends to look at Garnet a certain way, and, really, I can't usually tell how Garnet is looking at Pearl because of her glasses but maybe it's the same way a lot of the time."

Garnet giggled a little. "Here's another secret, then... it is," Garnet whispered. Steven made another excited noise and twisted in his sheets a little.

"That's enough of that," Pearl smiled, blushing again. "I'm glad you're taking this so well. Again, we're sorry we never told you before."

"It's okay," Steven said. "I wish you had, but it's not entirely my business either. And it is a little complicated," Steven shrugged, "but I think I understand. I'm glad you told me now, and we're all happy, and that's what matter."

"Precisely. Goodnight, Steven," Pearl said softly. Garnet stepped back and Pearl stood up, and they both went down the stairs.

The two of them sat in the living room together for a while, until they could here Steven's gentle snoring. They basked in the atmosphere from earlier, loving, secure, and warm. They were so happy and relieved and entirely in love with each other, so they wanted to hold on to the moment, and make the most of it. They both knew it wouldn't last forever, their love would be tried, problems would arise, but for now everything was peaceful. They cuddled on the couch together, lazily kissing every once in a while, drinking in every feeling between them.

After a while, Lapis came out of the temple with a book in her hand. It was one of Steven's graphic novels, so she was probably just returning it. She smiled at the two on the couch and turned around once the book was on the shelf.

"Why don't you stay?" Garnet asked, in a quiet voice so as not to disturb the comfortable silence hanging in the air. Garnet shifted on the couch, moving so that Pearl could lay on her, and Lapis could potentially lay on Pearl if she wanted.

Lapis looked between the two of them for a beat. Pearl was smiling, inviting, so Lapis shrugged and went over to them. Pearl shifted, making it easier to Lapis to lie on her.

Though they weren't sure if they'd always do things as a threesome like this, they could all at least come to the conclusion that this could work out well, so long as they were dedicated to keeping each other and themselves happy. Things were good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far, thank you so much! this is my longest fic ever and I am proud of that. I hope you enjoyed the work!


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